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Formula 1 Honda News

Will Honda be saved by F1 virgin?

Will Honda still be f**ked if saved by Virgin?

With just six weeks to go until the 2009 F1 season begins in Melbourne time is fast running out for the former Honda Racing team to find a buyer. The BBC reports that there is hope with several buyers sniffing around the back of the Honda garage. One of those has been confirmed today as being Richard Branson. “We are negotiating with several buyers and one of these parties is the Virgin Group,” a Honda spokesman said.

While the team could be sold for as little as £1, the new buyer would have to stump tens of millions each year just to get to the grid each weekend. It is understood that Honda is willing to offer some cash if a buyer can be found, as this will be cheaper than paying out contracts of the 700-strong workforce.

The F1-Team-formerly-known-as-Honda has negotiated a deal to use Mercedes-Benz engines for the 2009 season, but the German giant has put a deadline in place for the deal to be finalised. According to the BBC report it is expected that deadline could end within a week.

Since Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula One speculation has been fairly constant that buyers are on the lookout for a deal. There was a strong rumour in late December that Mexican telco billionaire Carlos Slim Helú was prepared to be Honda’s saviour, but that proved false.

Also in BBC’s report is speculation that three Honda Racing executives could partner with current team bosses Nick Fry and Ross Brawn to form a consortium prepared to bail out the team.

With the season approaching fast, and the F1-Team-formerly-known-as-Honda still needing to undertake much needed track and crash testing before they get to Melbourne, I guess we will find the answer to this story sooner rather than later.

Source: BBC

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Formula 1 Honda News

Honda F1 team saved by Slim’s picking?

Honda F1 saved by Carlos Slim Helu

The dreams of the Honda F1 team appear to have come true with news Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helú (inset pic) has bought the team, according to a report in Italian newspaper La Stampa. Slim is reported to be the world’s second richest man and has proven experience in motorsport with his Telmex company being a long time supporter of the US based Chip Ganassi Racing.

The news is yet to be confirmed in an official capacity, and autosport.com is reporting that Slim is just one of four parties in negotiations with Honda F1 Racing.

However, according to the La Stampa article it is believed Slim paid the £1 asking price announced by Honda when confirming plans to quit Formula One. If this news comes to fruition it is likely the revitalised team will keep Britain’s Jenson Button for one of the driving positions, while the other drive will go to Brazilian Bruno Senna (pictured above during testing in November). Bruno is the nephew of F1 legend and triple world champion Ayrton Senna. This means the former Honda driver, Brazilian veteran Rubens Barichello, could be forced into retirement.

Importantly, master tactician Ross Brawn will also be kept on staff and assuming Slim throws the full weight of his finances behind the team, the F1 circus will see the welcome the addition of new privateer player on the starting grid.

Source: autoblog, AFP & autosport.com. (Thanks to Nick and Dylan for the tips.)