Honda F1 in trouble, and withdraw from F1

[Beewill]

Well this is interesting........ Honda to start testing before a buy out has been reached.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73425


At least we can get our eyes on the car that was billed as a great step forward for Honda. Does anyone think a poor showing at this upcomming test could deter any potential buyers and finally be the end of Honda F1, or what is left of it? Or vice versa, if this car ends up performing well could we see more bidders come to the table?

[timbo]

That's interesting. So what engine will they use for testing?

[Sawtooth-spike]

Yeah thats what was going through my head. I am guessing the Mclaren deal is all but done. So i imagin that they will have one of theres (its good data for Mclaren at the end of the day).

The more pointless question is what colours will they run. Maybe we should offer them 50 quid and see if we can get F1 techincal on there for just one test.

[Professor]

Pitpass.com has reported that a complete car with a Merc lump has been seen at the factory. I guess it could be an '08 engine for the purpose of fitting the chassis dimensions. But it may be a new engine. Merc may be in on the details of an imminent announcement.

[MattF1]

I think the plan will be to prove that the car isn't a complete flop, and to attract potential buyers. Otherwise they will prove that the car is rubbish and Honda can be completely justified for dropping the race team.

[DaveKillens]

More like they have to prove to the world (and any potential buyers) that there actually is hardware. Considering that this project is supposed to compete in the '09 season, there better be plenty of hardware.

[freedom_honda]

Honda F1 was a challenge, this is just embarrassing.

how is this embarrassing? There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Honda made a political decision to pull out, Ross tries to help the team to find a new buyer and continue racing. What is wrong with that? When Ross joined the team as the team principle, he has the responsibility to take care of the team no matter what the situation is. Unfortunately it is to find a new buyer. The team is HIS responsibility, you can't just walk out if things go wrong.

No offense, but why do you have to be so negative about Ross and the team?

Moving on, one thing I don't get is why the team hasn't been drastically restructured down to just a core that can build a car and race it. They can't need 700 employees to simply turn up and race. They must be able to remove 20% straight away and make it ever more viable to take on.

Like you said, Ross is an ambitous man. When Honda first pulled the plug in December, he said his main job is to save jobs. Plus Honda has paid all the staff til March(or Feb. can't remember). so there is no point cutting jobs before that. and lets be honest money equals success in formula one. The chance of success is proportional to the size of the team. And we all know that Ross wants to WIN. Maybe thats why he won't let the 700 staffs leave so easily.

ps. this is just how i see it, it is not neccessarily true.

[andartop]

..lets be honest money equals success in formula one. The chance of success is proportional to the size of the team.
ps. this is just how i see it, it is not neccessarily true.

I understand this is just your opinion, but just out of curiosity I would like you to help us understand what made you formulate this opinion.. The Toyota experiment? The Honda experiment? I think it would be more reasonable to say success in F1 is like happiness in life: money and "size" certainly help, but not always!

[xpensive]

To the best of my experience, part of management is to anticipate the future, long-term as well as short term and act accordingly. Being pro-active if you wish. I cannot see Fry and Brawn doing that by holding on to a 700+ staff just because the salaries are secured for a few months, then what?

[Sawtooth-spike]

Honda will be running Mercedes at the test. According to the BBC.

Brawn (a man who does know he stuff) was say he belived that the car would of been a top 3 runner if all the stuff had not of happen. Now he feels they may have dropped back abit due to lack of testing.

I am looking forward to seeing what they have made. Just as long as it does not look like a Renault i will be happy.

[Paul]

Possible investors would for sure be more interested in a team with staff and a running car, than just empty facilities and two managers. So it was a good decision to keep the team together for as long as possible, especially with Jenson staying commited to the team.

[axle]

Possible investors would for sure be more interested in a team with staff and a running car, than just empty facilities and two managers. So it was a good decision to keep the team together for as long as possible, especially with Jenson staying commited to the team.

I don't think anyone was suggesting getting rid of the whole team, but there will be an excess IMO.

However, as it's probably cheaper to keep them on than give them redundancy at this point which allows a full strength team to keep ploughing on and making a better car.

[xpensive]

I think a serious investor would wish to see a house in order, with staff and business-plan adapted to reality, not having to start by laying off people nobody could afford in the first place.

[jddh1]

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5037.shtml

Well, afterall, there will be two "honda" cars on the grid in Melbourne.

[Henning]

Balaclava for one!