What does BMW's exit mean for F1?

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BMW has confirmed that this will be its last season in Formula 1.

The team, which had been tipped to fight for the world championship, has been struggling to make an impact on the track this year.

But that's only part of the story.

Like Honda, which pulled out of Formula 1 before the season had even started, the German carmaker has seen its sales and profits tumble as a result of the global economic downturn.

In such a difficult environment, they are struggling to justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on motor sport.


Before the end of the year, we will see at least one other car manufacturer leave F1
F1 analyst Christian Sylt of Formula Money

BMW's departure leaves four car manufacturers still competing in F1: Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and Renault.

Ferrari is unlikely to leave the sport, because its image as a manufacturer of supercars is intimately tied to its racing heritage.

But there is widespread speculation that at least one of the other major brands could follow BMW out of the door.