How’s that for a close call? With fellow Japanese automaker and rival Honda nixing its Formula One effort this year, Toyota nearly did the same. Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota F1 team principal, admitted that when sales dove last year the company mulled sending the team to the scrapper as a cost-cutting measure. Thanks to Yamashina’s insistence, the manufacturer stuck with the team. We shudder to think what would have happened if both Toyota and Honda had pulled their efforts at the same time. With F1 already struggling to bring more viewers in, the move could put a crimp on the sports progress. [Source: WCF]