Two more teams could pull plug on F1

In the wake of the shock decision by Honda to pull out of Formula One, Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, issued a dire warning yesterday that two more manufacturers could quit the sport as the credit crunch deepens in the coming weeks.

As Formula One was trying to come to terms with the unexpected move by Honda to withdraw from the world’s most expensive and prestigious championship and put its Northamptonshire-based team up for sale with the danger that up to 700 people could lose their jobs, Mosley said that Formula One had better heed this warning or face the consequences.

“The problem is that all I have are rumors and one shouldn’t really work on rumors," the FIA president said at a hastily arranged press conference, amid suggestions in Japan that Toyota has not ruled out following Honda’s lead. “But I think, as a matter of logic, it is very likely that we will lose another manufacturer or two unless we can demonstrate to them that the present level of expenditure in Formula One is going to cease.

“If we are going to be realistic, we have to assume that all the car manufacturers, when they start cost-cutting, shutting factories and letting people off, will look at Formula One and they will ask themselves the question, ‘Do we want to continue?’ And only they can answer that question, but we can be quite certain that it will be asked."

Mosley’s comments came on a black day for the sport when the global economic downturn, which has led to car sales plummeting in the United States, hit Formula One where almost none had expected it, as Honda stunned fans and its paddock rivals by confirming that it is selling its team and that it will be wound up if a buyer cannot be found by the start of next season. London Times