Yes, this is beginningBob Brown wrote:well, looks like Nick Fry indeed has "cockblocked" Super Aguri.
The fans will turn on him.
to look very messy indeed. (Super Aguri denied access to Istanbul) Why and how would Fry/Honda be able to dictate whether Super Aguri has a right to enter and set up in Istanbul's paddock anyway? Pffft. I bet it's not their place to do so, but provided that things go through certain channels before all is cleared up it might be too late for SA to participate. Even in this case I can see FIA/FOM clear SA of any possible forfeiture penalties, because a) it won't be their fault b) Bernie wants SA to carry on (possibly being in the know about long term plans for the team).
So now it's a game of chicken between F1 and Honda: Does Mr. Ecclestone value the newfound future and the newfound backers of Super Aguri more than Honda's presence in F1? F1 has Toyota anyway and even if there weren't a big name manufacturer in the backround (atm), this would open a way in for Tata, Hyundai, GM or VW/Porsche anyway. Can Honda afford to be seen shying away from competition in this fashion, almost a civil war between the two teams? Can it be seen to work against the status of F1 as the open wheel series with the most diverse base of participants by sabotaging potential entrants? The statements and actions of Nick Fry thus far are really so drastic I very much doubt he'd have become some sort of a rogue agent acting solely on his own behalf - if that were the case, his company would waste no time in removing him. Maybe he's the "bad cop", "fall guy" or "scapegoat" in all this.
Besides, FJ Weigl himself has implied that he's ready and willing to work with both Honda and Takuma Sato in the long term. (Weigl confident that his company is the "perfect match" for Super Aguri) He has a very convincing argument and he makes it well in the Pitpass article. There's one particularly interesting passage that drew my attention.
Three years is an interesting figure both in a business and in a sporting sense. It reveals a timeframe in which Weigl expects to see return for investment; the team would be free of its Honda commitment (should it choose so) at the start of the 2012 season ... and that, of course, by all projections is an interesting point in history for F1. The costly incremental transitionary phase should be largely over and a new more sustainable format should've emerged. A time as good as any for a team to step in the ring. At this time, Honda will either have proven its capacity as an engine/recovery system provider or not and they can look at the situation from a more equal footing. As it should be between two F1 teams in a sporting environment.Pitpass in its article wrote:"The decision is now in Honda's hands", says Weigl. The issue, though, is not a foregone conclusion. Weigl's firm is not sure at the moment that the offer will be accepted at the Honda board meeting because it is understood that with the previous take over they wanted Magma to pay back the debt to Honda at once, while the difference with Weigl's offer is that the debt will be paid back over three years.
I saw this coming, yet I was sure they would be saved somehow... It's strange I feel like I've read someone from F1 died. A whole team is no more...