Honda to quit Formula 1!

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Wow, but then thinking about it they struggled and have struggled to be competitive, and to make any kind of impact, results are key in that arena, they simply are not cutting it. Shame.

I thought with Ross Brawn as Team Principal things would improve for Honda, but clearly this hasn't happened.
 
I thought with Ross Brawn as Team Principal things would improve for Honda, but clearly this hasn't happened.

For all Ross Brawns experience, one man doesn't make a team race car better. It's the engineering that has gotta be on the money. It is that that has let the team down.

Both JB and RB are quick drivers, they simply have not had the package under them.
 
I thought Honda were pulling out due to it costing £200m to get a couple of cars round a few tracks, not race performance..;)
 
It's too good a set up not to get bought out.

An Mike Rutherford is probably the least talented journalist in the Auto industry...so I'd take what He says with a pinch of salt.

I'd like to see Jenson in a properly competitive car.
 
How prescient. Wonder if Jensen will ever get another ride.


Button and Honda - time to go
Mike Rutherford sounds off against one of Britain's highest paid yet least successful drivers, and the team he works for
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorsport/3173049/Button-and-Honda---time-to-go.html

Mike Rutherford - the poor mans Jason Dawe :devil:


I always thought, perhaps rather naively that F1 teams were kind of self-sustaining what with advertising revenue etc.. but i guess in a way Honda would be the least attractive team to advertise with - constant over promising and underachieving - who would want their company logo on a car like that? It doesn't bode well for the sport in general though i must say

edit: i do feel sorry for Jenson though, i think he is an excellent driver who's true potential may never be realised
 
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To be honest, if I was bunging $500M into something and doing that badly I wouldn't be too happy and would want to cut it loose, without even considering the current car market or credit crunch.
 
JB has a contract so he won't suffer but will be free to drive with another team. What about the other teams that run Honda engines will they have to go cap in hand to Ferrari or some other supplier?
 
Mike Rutherford - the poor mans Jason Dawe :devil:


I always thought, perhaps rather naively that F1 teams were kind of self-sustaining what with advertising revenue etc.. but i guess in a way Honda would be the least attractive team to advertise with - constant over promising and underachieving - who would want their company logo on a car like that? It doesn't bode well for the sport in general though i must say

edit: i do feel sorry for Jenson though, i think he is an excellent driver who's true potential may never be realised

When ciggies were involved this was a little more a reality.

However I though Honda had had "The Earth Car" for some time, effectively running with no major sponsorship...I guess that's what hurt them.
 
Let's have a think.

On the one hand you have an arguably 'within his comfort' zone F1 driver who has always been in the second or third rank with 1 victory out of over 150 races in 8 years (allegedly) getting paid £10,000,000 -£20,000,000 p.a. looking for a seat from his yacht at Monte.

On the other you have a selection of young, talented, hungry, aggressive, motivated new faces with a burning ambition to prove themselves looking for a seat who would probably pay for the priviledge or do it for a modest salary.

Which route to go down? Hmmmmmm. Tough one.
 
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Have a look at the F1 site. Cosworth has been awarded, provisionally, a contract to supply engines along with xtrac and ricardo to supply the gearboxes...... it's down to the teams to voice their thoughts now...
 
Honda - shutting their swindon plant for 2 months - now rumoured to be looking to lay off 1000 employees ...... makes fiscal sense withdrawing from F1 - can't say it actually increased honda sales....
 
I have worked in motorsport for 30 years, stealthily avoiding F1 during all that time.
Things have been bad for some time now and the F1 circus have got themselves in to a situation where it takes up to 800 people to put a couple of cars on the grid.
This is clearly unsustainable in an economic downturn. Whilst the tobacco profits were paying for teams half that size 15 years ago there was some insulation from real world economics. With most teams now funded by motor manufacturers, reality has set in.
It is tough for all at this time right now, but motorsport has survived previously because people want to do it rather than need to do it. We will have to wait to see if the strong desire still remains.:(
 
Things have been bad for some time now and the F1 circus have got themselves in to a situation where it takes up to 800 people to put a couple of cars on the grid.
This is clearly unsustainable in an economic downturn.
Wise words. It only differs from my view in that I think the qualification "in an economic downturn" is superfluous.

F1 has been painting itself into a very dark, uncomfortable, corner for a long time and the wheels finally seem to be falling off Max & Bernie's wagon. Whilst I feel no sadness for the overpaid "stars" of the "sport", I do feel genuine sorrow for the many averagely remunerated skilled people at Brackley for whom 2009 is looking increasingly insecure.
 

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