This is an update to:
Toyota Projects First Loss In Seven Decades
Toyota’s forecast on Monday of a $1.7bn loss for the year to end in March inevitably prompted fresh speculation regarding the future of their F1 team, which has been much discussed since Honda’s decision to quit the sport earlier this month.
But while Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, admitted that the company was “facing an unprecedented emergency” due to declining sales worldwide, he stressed that would not mean turning their back on F1.
“We continue F1 and other motorsport activities while cutting costs,” Watanabe said.
In an even more bullish vein, the head of the Japanese car giant’s Formula One team, John Howett, said he is approaching 2009 “with optimism.”
The Cologne-based team’s President, John Howett, backed fellow FOTA luminary Luca di Montezemolo in calling for a greater than 50 per cent share of the sport’s commercial revenue for the teams.
“I believe in the Champions League it is upwards of 96-97 per cent of revenues that is redistributed depending on where you finish, whereas at the moment we receive 50 per cent.
“So given the current circumstances people would like to reopen that discussion,” he said.
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