Honda F1 lives.... as Honda F1?!

[MrKipling43]

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21178.html

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please.

[patmahe]

Hope this happens, as much for the staff of Honda F1 as for Formula one itself.

[Muzzer]

IF it does happen, it does sound like rather a mish-mash stop-gap measure rather than a move forward.

I mean, if Honda keep it going they're not exactly going to be putting much cash in for development, etc are they?

IIRC, they spent about $150m dollars to come second from last in 2008. Now they're going to have help from Petrobras, etc but that will cover a small amount.

How much would it cost to lay the staff off? Can't be that much. Millions, but not the millions of running an F1 team at the moment.

And engines from Mercedes in a Honda car? Can't see that lasting long....

Still, on the bright side, if they can keep it going until 2010 someone else attracted to the cheaper costs for that season onwards might be tempted.

[Alfie Noakes]

Just spotted this myself, good news indeed!

I'm wondering if Santander might be the other sponser. They sponser Bruno (can't call him Senna yet) and also McLaren (who are supplying the power train).

Maybe the Mac engines will be badged Santander :-)

[skinny]

could bernie really own a team? that would be a disaster for FOTA...

[ajprice]

Alfie Noakes said:

Just spotted this myself, good news indeed!

I'm wondering if Santander might be the other sponser. They sponser Bruno (can't call him Senna yet) and also McLaren (who are supplying the power train).

Maybe the Mac engines will be badged Santander :-)

I think 'Honda F1' could be the holding name until an announcement is made.

Team Santander-Mercedes F1 (Santander team, Merc engine) with Bruno driving? What you're wondering does make sense as they are a Brazilian firm, and sponsor McLaren who would be supplying the engines.

[ajprice]

Double post.

Edited by ajprice on Thursday 12th February 15:46

[10 Pence Short]

ajprice said:

Alfie Noakes said:

Just spotted this myself, good news indeed!

I'm wondering if Santander might be the other sponser. They sponser Bruno (can't call him Senna yet) and also McLaren (who are supplying the power train).

Maybe the Mac engines will be badged Santander :-)

I think 'Honda F1' could be the holding name until an announcement is made.

Team Santander-Mercedes F1 (Santander team, Merc engine) with Bruno driving? What you're wondering does make sense as they are a Brazilian firm, and sponsor McLaren who would be supplying the engines.

As far as I'm aware Santander are Spanish, rather than Brazilian and are very likely to jump to Ferrari once Alonso signs up.

[FourWheelDrift]

ajprice said:

Alfie Noakes said:

Just spotted this myself, good news indeed!

I'm wondering if Santander might be the other sponser. They sponser Bruno (can't call him Senna yet) and also McLaren (who are supplying the power train).

Maybe the Mac engines will be badged Santander :-)

I think 'Honda F1' could be the holding name until an announcement is made.

A name change I think requires all team principles agreement so perhaps they firstly haven't thought of one or 2 it's too late anyway as Honda F1 was the name officially entered.

[Eric Mc]

skinny said:

could bernie really own a team? that would be a disaster for FOTA...

He could call it Brabham.

[stifler]

I thought that Bruno Senna had the backing of Petrobras, the brazilian petrol giant. This would undoubtedly clash with the proposed Petronas sponsorship.

(Waits to be corrected.)

[furtive]

stifler said:

I thought that Bruno Senna had the backing of Petrobras, the brazilian petrol giant. This would undoubtedly clash with the proposed Petronas sponsorship.

(Waits to be corrected.)

The article says the sponsorship would be Petrobras and not Petronas

[stifler]

furtive said:

stifler said:

I thought that Bruno Senna had the backing of Petrobras, the brazilian petrol giant. This would undoubtedly clash with the proposed Petronas sponsorship.

(Waits to be corrected.)

The article says the sponsorship would be Petrobras and not Petronas

Yes. BS has been linked with Petrobras and there was believed to be a large sponsorship deal with the Honda F1 team before Honda management announced the pull-out last year. It was one of the reasons that Honda were so keen to test BS.

(Again, waits to be corrected)

[furtive]

I still don't get what you are on about. Petronas aren't mentioned anywhere??

[stifler]

furtive said:

I still don't get what you are on about. Petronas aren't mentioned anywhere??

Sorry, ignore me. Reading two articles at the same time. Confusing my little brain.as you were.

[mattikake]

skinny said:

could bernie really own a team? that would be a disaster for FOTA...

My thoughts almost exactly!

I wonder if BE is using this as a back door to almost total control of F1? Back to the Brabham days... and the 1982 squabbling between FOTA, FOCA and FISA?

[Teppic]

10 Pence Short said:

ajprice said:

Alfie Noakes said:

Just spotted this myself, good news indeed!

I'm wondering if Santander might be the other sponser. They sponser Bruno (can't call him Senna yet) and also McLaren (who are supplying the power train).

Maybe the Mac engines will be badged Santander :-)

I think 'Honda F1' could be the holding name until an announcement is made.

Team Santander-Mercedes F1 (Santander team, Merc engine) with Bruno driving? What you're wondering does make sense as they are a Brazilian firm, and sponsor McLaren who would be supplying the engines.

As far as I'm aware Santander are Spanish, rather than Brazilian and are very likely to jump to Ferrari once Alonso signs up.

They are not likely to jump to Ferrari once Alonso signs up. The are jumping ship (for 2010), as announced back in November: http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/...

[Nick M]

skinny said:

could bernie really own a team? that would be a disaster for FOTA...

Given the resolve which FOTA seem to be showing at the moment, I don't think it would be.

I genuinely think BE has pissed enough people off over the years that he would be pretty much powerless to influence or hinder things from within. Plus the manufacturers may resent what they see as a conflict of interest between the commercial rights holder and a team investor / owner....

I don't think we're seeing the all powerful BE of the past 10 years or more - I think he's showing signs of being hopelessly out of touch with public opinion, of being obsessively greedy to the exclusion of common sense, and lacking in any new innovations to bring in new revenues for F1.

[CanAm]

Eric Mc said:

skinny said:

could bernie really own a team? that would be a disaster for FOTA...

He could call it Brabham.

I thought he bought McLaren - well at least that's what Murray said.

[german tony]

Bother, wish I'd read this before posting on the other thread...ah well.