Honda , in a bid to save costs as new car sales continue their downward spiral, has announced that it is leaving Formula One racing beginning with the 2009 season. The automaker plans to sell its team and said it won’t supply engines to other teams looking to enter a non-factory outfit in the auto racing series.
Honda president Takeo Fukui told reporters that “This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry,”
The 350 engineers who were working on Honda ’s Formula One efforts will be transferred within the company to other outposts, including hybrid powertrain development. Earlier this week, Honda announced the 2010 Insight hybrid car.
Honda says it costs the company about ¥ 20 billion a year, or about $217.3 million, to fund the Formula One efforts. Honda finished in ninth place out of the 11 teams last season. Since re-entering Formula One in 2000, Honda finished first once.
