VIENNA - Austrian group Red Bull, main sponsors of two Formula One teams, said Saturday it was not surprised by the shock withdrawal of Japanese rivals Honda from the motor sport.

"Honda's withdrawal is not surprising," said Red Bull, owned by Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz. "Numerous other race teams are having similar thoughts.

"The main issue now is whether the reductions in costs all of us must make will come quickly enough to guarantee a sufficient number of teams carrying on."

Red Bull is the principal sponsor of two teams in Formula One: the England-based Red Bull team, with Renault engines, and the Italy-based Toro Rosso, whose cars use Ferrari engines.

"We will leave the teams decide whether to build them themselves or to have an independant constructor do it," Red Bull said.

Either way, Honda's withdrawal "will have no impact on the choice of Toro Rosso's pilots", it added.

Last season, Toro Rosso finished sixth in the constructors standings on 39 points with Red Bull a place behind, 10 points adrift. German Sebastian Vettel was the highest ranked driver for either team, the Toro Rosso pilot finished eighth in the drivers' standings with Red Bull's Mark Webber in 11th. Honda announced its withdrawal from Formula One on Friday, raising fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport struggling to keep afloat in the current economic downturn.