Well so much for hinting that they not only wanted to sell the team but would provide lumps for 2009.
Honda team boss Ross Brawn has confirmed he is in talks with his former employer Ferrari about securing a customer engine supply for 2009. I guess Honda re-shook the Magic 8-ball on that one huh?
Ross told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he and Nick Fry are in talks with multiple potential buyers of the Brackley based F1 team and are looking for alump deal for 2009 since Honda won’t provide them.
“Honda has already said it will not supply us with engines, so that’s why I contacted Ferrari,” said Brawn, who was the Maranello team’s technical director until 2006.
“We haven’t signed anything yet but I really appreciated the support from president Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali. It’s like being among former schoolmates: they still see me as one of their own.”
“I can only say it’s more than one. The objective is to save the jobs … my presence is certainly not a priority.”
What is the liklihood of them testing a car this winter?
“There’s no hurry because modifying the car to install a different engine requires at least six weeks of work anyway. It’s unlikely we’ll manage to be on track during the winter.
“That’s why we are studying a package of evolutions for 2010, when we aim to step up the ladder. Next year will remain for us a transitional one,”
Color me reactionary but with Honda’s treatment of Super Aguri and now the exodus of F1 with the style and class of a reality TV show and the charm of Department of Motor Vehicles employee; Honda has all but left me very cold. So cold that it will probably be a cold day in Hades before I buy a Honda. In fact, I may just get rid of my self-propelled Honda mower just to spite them. pick up a Williams mower for cheap I hear.
I understand that this type of decision was never going to be easy to manage. All the employees and ancillary issues but I can’t help but think it could have been handled better and with a touch more sensibility and class. The last 12 months for Honda in F1 have been nothing but the cold, hard, terse decisions of a Magic 8-ball gone wild and I suspect I am not the only one who have been affected by their actions to the point that their brand equity is certainly damaged at my house. I like Honda, I really do. They make good cars and have been a trusted friend throughout my life but I must say, this have left me very cold. I am sure I will get over it by spring when I need to mow my lawn again.
Oh…and kudos to Luca and the boys for helping out.
