The end of the Formula One road for Toyota and the signs that Renault could yet follow suit are hardly good news for the grand-prix circuit, especially as it appears likely that the Japanese team will not be sold but given the task of operating elsewhere in motor sport.

In the past 12 months Honda has departed the world’s most expensive paddock and so has BMW, while Bridgestone, the Japanese tyre supplier, has announced its intention to depart at the end of next year. If Toyota’s exit is followed by Renault, it could begin to look like a stampede and Formula One will be paying a heavy price for its recent love affair with big car manufacturers.

However, it is wrong to say that the alarm bells were ringing in the corridors of power last night. That the Honda team were sold to their own management and BMW may yet return under new ownership in a grid slot conveniently vacated by Toyota underlines that this is less a crisis of confidence for the sport than an, albeit difficult, phase of change in team ownership. The big car companies, hammered by the recession, are leaving, but smaller, independently owned teams are taking their place.

Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights-holder, blamed Toyota’s management structure for the failure of the team on the track, but is confident that the grid will be full next season.

At the FIA, it was a case of “I told you so”. Under its former president, Max Mosley, there were constant warnings that the sport would lose some of its biggest competitors. But Mosley frightened the horses when he tried to impose a “voluntary” budget cap and the evolution in ownership of teams leaving suggests that he was too pessimistic about the consequences of manufacturers getting cold feet. Formula One is still rolling with the punches better than he predicted.

The world governing body, now under the leadership of Jean Todt, has not given up on its cost-cutting crusade, however, and last night recommitted itself to continue to bring down expenditure in the world’s most expensive sport.

“The FIA will now work to ensure that Toyota’s departure is managed in the best interests of the championship and will continue to encourage the Formula One teams to undertake the necessary cost-cutting measures for the good of the sport,” it said.