Toyota withdraws from F1

Toyota Motor withdrew from Formula One today, leaving Japan without a team in motor sports’ premier series.



Company president Akio Toyoda apologized for the team\'s failure to record a single race victory since joining Formula One in 2002, despite an estimated annual budget of around $300 million.



The decision by the world\'s largest carmaker to pull out of Formula One comes as the auto industry starts to stabilize, following a sales crunch in the wake of the financial crisis.



Cologne-based Toyota\'s departure as a team and engine supplier deals another major blow to the sport, after Japan\'s number two carmaker, Honda, quit the series last December.



It leaves Japan without a team in Formula One and continues the drain of Japanese companies from motor sports, which has seen Subaru and Suzuki withdraw from the world rallying championship.