Toyota future in doubt? Announcement Sunday

jarno-trulli

Note: This article has been updated – please see last section.

It is being reported that Toyota have set November 8th as the day they will announce the future of the team. Previously it had been believed that the team would wait until their board meeting in mid November before any announcements would be made, however for whatever reason this has now been brought forward.

The future of the team has been in question for many weeks, with the team under performing throughout the tail end of the season. Toyota wouldn’t be the first casualty either of the big car manufacturer pull outs from Formula 1, with Honda and BMW already out of the game due to the world financial crisis.

Current drivers are also unconfirmed for 2010 seats, with Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli seemingly about to fly the nest, with the Toyota team looking for fresh blood such as the promising Kamui Kobayashi. Team boss John Howett has been positive however, keen to sign new drivers – even looking at the expensive Kimi Raikkonen.

If Toyota were to leave the sport this would free up a space on the grid for another team, which would work out quite nicely for the ex BMW Sauber team, who currently have new owners, but no grid places in 2010.

Update 03/11/09 19:15

It is being reported by Japanese newspaper Mainichi Daily News that the Toyota board have decided to pull out of Formula 1. A translation of the news article can be found here reported by @f1scoop. To quote the article: