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Multiple sources are now reporting that Honda Racing F1 is being put up for sale and that if the sale is not completed by Christmas the team will be closed down. There is no confirmation from any Honda company officials, but teams across Europe are reporting that they have received a rush of applications from Honda F1 personnel in the course of the day.

The fact that the team is not responding to requests for statements is a bad sign, as if the rumours are not correct they would need to be killed as quickly as possible.

The official announcement of such a move is unlikely to come from the United Kingdom and thus the F1 world is waiting for Japan to wake up in around five or six hours to see if the news will be made official by the company.

Given the lack of credit available in the world at the moment it is not going to be easy for Honda to find a buyer, although big companies that might have an interest in running their own Formula 1 team do exist.

We will keep you informed as more news come to light.

Honda to disband F1 team unless buyer is found

Published: December 4 2008 21:03 | Last updated: December 4 2008 21:03

Formula One’s financial crisis is expected to deepen on Thursday with an announcement from Honda that it will disband its team unless it can find a buyer in the next three months.

Ross Brawn, Honda’s team principal, broke the news to the 667-strong Honda staff at 6pm on Wednesday, prompting a flood of calls to other teams from staff looking for jobs. Other F1 teams were also informed of the Honda decision on Wednesday.

One potential customer could be Dubai International Capital, the emirate investment buy-out group. During this season, DIC pulled out of talks to purchase Honda’s sister team, Super Aguri.

Any buyer would take over a team whose engines would be supplied by Ferrari rather than using Honda’s V8 engines, which have proved hugely costly to manufacture.

The decision has huge implications for the future of motorsport’s elite competition, with fears that other teams wholly owned by car manufacturers may also be facing financial trouble. Particular focus will be on Toyota, Honda’s big Japanese rival which could use Honda’s decision to bow out itself.

With F1 teams already embroiled in talks about how to make savings, Max Mosley, president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, F1’s governing body, is expected to reinforce his argument for stringent cost-cutting measures, such as a cap on team budgets and the introduction of standard engines.

Honda’s decision comes after a season in which the team, based in Brackley in Northamptonshire, finished eighth in the world championships. The Japanese company poured £147m into the team, the highest costs of any team on the grid.

Although turnover rose 23 per cent, only a tiny amount is thought to have come from sponsorship. Honda has heavily promoted its Earth car, the only team to attempt to promote environmental sustainability.

The outcome of the FIA’s meeting in Monaco next week is now critical to F1’s future. Williams has suffered net losses of £50m in the past two years. But plans to introduce standard engines are opposed by Ferrari and Toyota.

Honda came into motor racing in the 1960s and supplied engines in the 1980s and 1990s to Williams and McLaren. Honda bought out BAR in 2005, but the team won only one grand prix, in Hungary in 2006.


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bmw to be next?

Toyota most likely.

Honda will focus on Indy, ALMS and will go for the 24h of Le Mans.

i doubt Toyota will exit. the team is improving gradually. they just need to find a good leader within the team, and they will be challenging for race wins soon.

What a disaster for F1. Feel sorry for Ross, lost his job in a year, hope he goes back to Ferrari. The wait is over for Rubens, turns out everyone in Honda F1 won't get a job next year. Jenson must be shattered, he spent the entire year looking forward to 09, and now it won't happen at all. Bruno Senna and Lucas di Grassi must be pretty shocked as well.


The contest for the STR race seats will become even more intense.

Very tragic. In these economic times finding a buyer will prove to be very difficult especially when no one was prepared to take on Supeer Aguri.

Costs aren't so much the issue, though they're obviously an issue, ROI and the useful technology is.

And that went on the crapper with the ban on ground effects, then turbos then the active ride cars.

The engines became more expensive as they become more restricted. Ditto for aerodynamics. And the dozen suspension geometries/tweaks/redesigns needed after the ban of the advanced active suspensions.

Freedom equals (relatively) low costs, more restrictions mean just more money spent to overcome them, a lot of restrictions coupled to technological regression mean a lot of money spent to overcome them.

If FIA would have been smart that would have introduced a power-torque per weight and/or drag ratio/penalty system, along with a cheapo active aero solution.

Let's not forget the stupid ban on the recession proof tobacco advertising that some dumb ass politicians thought of.

Thus the emphasis would have been on better efficiency, or downright alternative propulsion systems, materials and electronics and Honda would have stayed as the money spent would have been useful.