Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. today became the third carmaker in a year to quit Formula One, removing one of the biggest spenders from the racing series as it reverts to a less lavish past, analysts said.

Toyota, pulling out to cut costs estimated at more than $500 million a year amid record losses, is following Honda Motor Co. and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG from the sport owned by London-based buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd. Bridgestone Corp. said yesterday it will leave as tire supplier to the series after 2010.

Formula One’s new lower profile shouldn’t have a direct effect on CVC’s $1 billion revenue, which comes mainly from television rights and hosting fees, according to Mark Jenkins, a professor of business strategy at the U.K.’s Cranfield University who has published research on the sport.

“It’s not a disaster” for the sport, Jenkins said. “It’s returning to how it was in the 1980s and 1990s with more selective spending by carmakers.”

Toyota’s withdrawal leaves Ferrari SpA, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Renault SA as car constructors next season as well as Proton Holdings Bhd.’s Lotus Cars Ltd, which is returning after a 15-year absence as one of at least four new smaller teams. The season starts in March. Lotus’ team will have a budget of as little as 55 million pounds ($90.9 million), team chief Tony Fernandes said Sept. 25.

Formula One’s present structure is “crumbling,” Mick de Haas, an auto racing sponsorship consultant based in Baarn, the Netherlands who worked in the series since the 1980s, said by telephone. Team sponsors including Credit Suisse AG quit last year, slashing demand for $3,940 for race-day VIP tickets that include unlimited champagne.

Tea Tables

In the 1980s, teams employed fewer staff and sponsors spent less on entertaining clients. Typically, guests were served tea on foldaway tables, said Lynden Swainston, managing director of LSA Ltd., a London-based travel company, who worked in Formula One hospitality since then.

“I can’t see any big manufacturers or sponsors coming in,” De Haas said. “It will be interesting to see how things turn out next season.”

The move may save Toyota 50 billion yen ($553 million) a year, according to Koji Endo, managing director of Advanced Research Japan, a Tokyo-based equity research firm.

Toyota’s Core

“Toyota is focusing on its core business,” Endo said.

Toyota, which announces second-quarter results tomorrow, in August predicted a net loss of 450 billion yen for the year ending March 31. Company spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi earlier declined to estimate the cost of participating in the racing championship.

“Formula is in good enough shape to deal with this,” said Xander Heijnen, a director of CNC Communications in Munich who has advised carmakers on the series. “Ferrari and Mercedes have been there for the longest and they prove it can be done effectively.”

Even so, there are doubts about the financial backing of some of the new teams, Heijnen said. A new U.S. team, Spain’s Campos Grand Prix, the U.K.’s Manor Grand Prix and Lotus are scheduled to join next season. Sauber, formerly BMW, may get Toyota’s berth.

Toyota didn’t win a race since entering its team in 2002, finishing fifth in this year’s constructors’ championship with drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock.

“They made probably the single largest capital investment in F-1 ever,” Jenkins said in an e-mail. “It seems the ‘Toyota way’ did not work in F-1.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at aduff4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 07:27 EST