F1 — What Now?

TENERIFE, Canary Islands — Honda’s Formula One exit raises fresh questions over whether a sport associated with big money, glitz and glamor can cut costs to secure its future.

The Japanese car manufacturer quit F1 on Friday, saying that in the current economic downturn it needs to focus on its core business of making and selling cars rather than spending 200 million pounds ($291 million) a year to race them on Grand Prix tracks.

In three seasons, and with such massive investment, Honda managed just one race victory.

Toyota, Japan’s biggest car manufacturer, which has seen an even poorer return on its investment with no victories in seven years, said it remains committed to F1.

Yet for a sport that has just crowned its first black champion, British driver Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, following what was perhaps the most exciting finish in its 58-year history, the loss of a major manufacturer could be an early indicator of worse news to come.

“If we don’t cut costs we would lose one team after another and we would end up with no teams at all,” FIA president Max Mosley said on Friday. “If the teams don’t notice now what’s happened, you have to abandon all hope.”

Teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and BMW Sauber are not considered under threat due to calculated investment, strong sponsor support and a winning tradition.

But the withdrawal of Japan’s second-largest car manufacturer shows “how important is to reduce costs, which we have been calling for since five years (ago),” McLaren-Mercedes vice president Norbert Haug said. “Our Formula One commitment is based on solid financial foundations.”

Renault also has a strong tradition in motor sport and has two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, whose victories toward the end of last season boosted confidence that the French team can compete for the championship next season.

Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India are secure for the time being, so long as their billionaire owners continue to finance their teams.

Japanese team Super Aguri, which was backed by Honda, pulled out of F1 earlier this year.

That leaves Williams and Toyota looking vulnerable at a time when solid financial backing is a must.

British team Williams is the last true independent team left on the grid, but has been beset by financial difficulties, with big losses last year.

Toyota’s heavy spending — euro380m ($US600m) per year — has not produced a single victory, although Japan’s biggest car manufacturer denied it would follow Honda out of the sport.

“Toyota is currently committed to succeeding in Formula One and to reducing our costs,” Toyota said in a statement. “We are contributing to the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) activities which will achieve significant cost reductions whilst maintaining the spirit of the sport.”

Honda’s exit bolsters Mosley’s argument that the sport must become greener and more affordable if it is to have a viable future.

“We have to get the costs down so that you can run on the money you get from Formula One Management and minimal sponsorship,” Mosley said. “At the moment, it’s difficult and if it starts to get down to 14 cars or fewer, you’ve got a serious problem.”

Mosley wants to introduce a common engine and do away with the large sums being invested in aerodynamics, lightweight components, sophisticated gearboxes and wind tunnel testing — calling them “a total waste of time.”

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone backs Mosley and called Honda’s exit a “wake-up call” for the sport to start engaging with its fans again.

“The average guy in the street doesn’t care how many cylinders the car has, doesn’t know, or what the capacity of the engine is, doesn’t care,” Ecclestone said. “We are in the business of entertainment and we should be building race cars to race.”

The teams say they are already responding to the changing realities within the sport and the global economy.

“Within the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) we’re working very hard on measures to cut costs, and over the next two years we must achieve cuts of at least 50 percent,” Haug said.

Mosley — who wants to return to the heyday of F1 and an old-style entrepreneurial spirit — said that if the teams themselves don’t rein in their costs, then the administrators of the sport will do it for them.

“Our job is to take action,” Mosley said. “If they don’t wake up to it now, they’ll probably get a nasty shock in the future.”