I strongly believe Max was privy to many of these reasons and knew something like this would happen. Investing in F1 may not represent the same value it once did to the volume car makers–especially in the West–because of the way people’s view of motoring is changing, or possibly because they would invest hundreds of millions in developing and marketing a new V-10 road car only to find that–oopsie–the rules have changed yet again and we’re running V-8s now, or they’re just not winning anything year-in, year-out, so what’s the point?

For them F1 is a means to an end, nothing more. To us fans, it’s an end in itself so maybe we’re shocked when BMW or Toyota leaves but really, the manufacturers only do what’s best for the manufacturers, whether it’s FOTA or F-OFF.

Just because some of the big boys are going, doesn’t mean it’s all crashing down in flames though. I think we’ll still have some good times next season, and the one after that. And maybe within that timeframe we’ll see a new major player or two enter the arena. I wouldn’t put it past Audi or Merc or maybe even Peugeot to throw their hat in one day, especially if F1 decides to go Greener™.