F1: Toyota Still Awaiting Possible Bernie ‘Fine’

Formula 1

F1: Toyota Still Awaiting Possible Bernie ‘Fine’

Toyota is still waiting to find out whether it faces a financial penalty from Bernie Ecclestone for failing to meet its obligations after withdrawing from the sport...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 29, 2009 Balen (BEL)

A Toyota source said F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone (Right) has been in contact with senior management in recent weeks. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Toyota is still waiting to find out whether it faces a financial penalty from Bernie Ecclestone for failing to meet its obligations after withdrawing from the sport.

A Toyota source said F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone (Right) has been in contact with senior management in recent weeks. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

In July Toyota signed the Concorde Agreement, committing the team to the sport for the next three seasons. However just three days after the last race of this season in Abu Dhabi the board announced that the company would halt its involvement immediately. It also refused to allow the team to be sold on as a going concern, as happened with Honda.

Since then there has been little firm news on what might happen with Toyota, other than an FIA press release which indicated that the legal position would be examined.

A source familiar with the Concorde Agreement and F1 team takeovers told SPEEDtv.com that Toyota could ultimately be fined 300m pounds or more for failing to take up its entry, and the company is ‘dreaming’ if it thinks it can get away without paying anything.

A Toyota insider says that Ecclestone has been in regular contact with the team management Cologne in recent weeks, and has apparently mentioned a range of penalties from a ‘bottle of beer’ to the sort of figure outlined above.

Toyota’s corporate lawyers have insisted that they do not think that the company will necessarily have any financial obligations, and that Ecclestone would have to prove that Formula One as a company suffered damage of a certain value.

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005.