As we discussed yesterday, the future of Formula One isn’t looking too healthy at this particular point in time and apart from the three teams preciously mentioned, Prodrive, Super Aguri and Toro Rosso, who are all dependant on approval to run complete customer cars, there is another team already on the grid that could also opt to pull out if things don’t start dramatically improving, and soon.

Everyone is well aware that the giant expectations that came with Toyota when they entered the sport have yet to materialize and year after year, very little seems to change. They have secured the odd podium here and there, but as for that first win, it is still very far from materializing.

Take China for example, once again the Cologne based squad went home empty handed. Ralf Schumacher had a strong qualifying session, ending up in sixth place on the grid, but the German racer also had a very eventful race. In the second corner he spun to avoid the Red Bull of Mark Webber, then he spun in the fight with Tonio Liuzzi and finally he spun with dry tyres on a wet spot of the Shanghai circuit.

As our spies in China confirmed, Ralf’s time at Toyota and probably in Formula One is over. Timo Glock will replace him if Renault does not send Kovalainen there instead to make room for Alonso, but the Finn does not want to go there and he has good reasons not to, because according to Ralf there are no signs that the situation will ever get any better.

The key people, Yamashina and Vasselon, will stay and they will carry on lying to themselves by generating charts that prove Toyota is, together with BMW, the third fastest car on the grid. Whether Timo Glock will find good fortunes here, is also a very big question mark. There are strong signs that if they cannot score podium positions next year, Toyota may close the whole thing down after the 2008 season and Williams will become a type of satellite factory team for the Japanese engine giant instead.