Honda pulls out of Formula One

Eurosport - Fri, 05 Dec 16:57:00 2008

Honda Motor Co has announced that it is pulling out of Formula One motor racing, although next year's Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit will still go ahead as planned.

2008 Honda Rubens Barrichello - 0

Amid slumping car sales triggered by the worldwide downturn, Honda are no longer willing to bankroll the Formula One team and its estimated annual budget of $500 million.

Honda Motor Co Chief Executive Takeo Fukui told said a return to the sport could take time, and that there were no plans to continue as an engine supplier.

"This difficult decision was taken recently and was made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry," Fukui said.

"Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economics around the globe continue to mount.

"We will enter into consultation with associates of Honda Racing F1 and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale."

Fukui, who told Reuters this year that he would "spend a trillion yen" if he could to make Honda a Formula One winner, said there would be no speedy return to the sport.

"At this stage we have no plans to return to F1. We have no plans to supply engines to other teams," he said. "We do not want to be half in and half out of the sport."

Honda would in any case have little time to find a buyer with the 2009 season starting in Australia on March 29.

"We would love to be able to continue in Formula One but we're simply not able to in the current financial climate," Fukui said.

"At testing in Barcelona last month we were still positive about racing in F1 next season.

"But we have to use our resources sensibly. As far as potential buyers go, our criterion would be that they continue to employ the hundreds of engineers who work for the Honda team."

Honda, like all of its rivals suffering from a sharp fall in global car sales, saw its sales in the United States, its biggest market, slump 32 percent last month.

"Pulling out of F1 will have a big impact in terms of cutting overall costs," said Fukui. "The most important thing for Honda is to see where we are in the next three to five years."

With Formula One's power-brokers desperately seeking cost-cutting measures to ensure its own survival, Honda's departure will have serious implications for the glamour sport.

It also leaves Britain's Jenson Button without a drive for 2009, although some teams have yet to confirm their lineups.

Brazilian Bruno Senna, the 25-year-old nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, had also been tipped to take the place of compatriot Rubens Barrichello at Honda next season.

Honda's exit leaves the multi-billion dollar sport facing a depleted grid of 18 cars if no buyer can be found in the extremely tight time-frame available.

It will also prompt fears that other major manufacturers, with their factory production suspended and thousands of staff laid off, could follow Honda's example.

Honda and Toyota Motor Corp have been the big spenders in Formula One in recent years.

Ross Brawn, the former Ferrari technical director who won multiple world championships with Michael Schumacher, was hired to run the Honda team at the end of last year.

Despite its huge resources, Honda had a dismal 2008 season and was pinning its hopes on next year's new rules levelling the playing field.

Button, a winner for Honda in Hungary in 2006, scored just three points and Barrichello took 11. The team finished ninth overall.

Honda's best finish in the constructors' championship was fourth, in 1967 and 2006, although they powered McLaren and Williams to a string of titles in the 1980s and 1990s.

The last team to leave Formula One was Honda-backed Super Aguri, the tail-enders who folded for financial reasons in April.

The sport's governing body said on Friday that Cosworth would provide Formula One teams with a low-cost engine option from 2010.

FIA president Max Mosley said the body was in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth, Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions (XR) to provide a complete powertrain (engine and gearbox).

"We can get the cost down from the current £200 million ($293.4 million) plus [per team] down to about £30 million at which point the income from television and the income from sponsors covers it and you don't need these huge subsidies from the car industry," Mosley said.

Reuters

Comment 159 - 178 of 218

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  1. Honda’s pullout……….. Ecclestone `s decisions to pull­ out of Honda’s largest market North America could not­ have helped.

    From JAYANTILAL, on Sat 6 Dec 9:25PM

  2. F1 IS ABOUT TEAMS AND ENGINE BUILDERS..ITS WRONG TO­ START CHANGING REGULATIONS AND RULES JUST BECAUSE..SO­ HONDA PULLING OUT YES IS SAD , BUT THEN AGAIN IF THEY­ CANNOT MAKE THEIR CHASSIS AND ENGINE A BETTER­ COMBINATION, THEN BYE BYE HONDA, AND LETS GET SOMEONE­ NEW AND EXICTED ABOUT WHAT F1 IS.AND WHY NOT HAVE 2­ FORMULAS IN ONE?

    From NUNO, on Sat 6 Dec 9:00PM

  3. mclaren are cheats along with hamilton No 1 will ever­ take them too seriosly, they tarnish the name of F1 un­ repairable now my hoes THE NAME OF F1 TOO TARNISHED it­ is a joke...

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 7:05PM

  4. mclaren are cheats along with hamilton No 1 will ever­ take them too seriosly, they tarnish the name of F1 un­ repairable now my hoes THE NAME OF F1 TOO TARNISHED it­ is a joke...

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 7:03PM

  5. Ron: As I said we are continually getting the spy­ scandal stuffed down our throats so no one will thank­ you for bringing it up again. $100,000,000 was quite a­ lot compared to Massa's fine for pit lane racing­ though.
    Anyway gotta go.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 6:55PM

  6. bill mac:
    agreed. we'll never agree on the­ spying. as i said to c.bannister508 i'm happy to­ see the views of people who disagree with what i say,­ but it gets my goat when my words are twisted or­ misinterpreted and they disagree with what i didn't­ say.

    From ronthedog, on Sat 6 Dec 6:49PM

  7. re c.bannister508:
    had you read my post with an­ unblinkered eye you would have realised that i­ refrerred to weight, engine-capacity and fuel tank­ equivalences being included in the rules. the formula.­ and is what i suggest not a change to the formula?
    if­ you wish to disagree with what i say that's fine,­ but your stated disagreement is with what i didn't­ say.

    From ronthedog, on Sat 6 Dec 6:41PM

  8. Ron: I am trying to post comments on electric cars etc,­ your right I was flippant on this. But keep getting­ invalid comment and I am going out soon.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 6:36PM

  9. ronthedog: well said.
    But I still diagree viz-e-viz the­ spying scandal it just seems to me that the more we­ here about this affair than the less maclaren did­ actually gain. But we shall both have to have our­ opinion on this. The problem here is that we have to­ put up with a bunch of idiots on this site who keep­ repeating this over and over again. So many people are­ a bit sensitive. Can you imagine marnio getting home­ from work and thinking Uh Uh must post the same message­ I have been posting for the last 2 months - just a bit­ sad.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 6:33PM

  10. re bill mac:
    i didn't say the information was­ valid for five years, but that it is of use now and a­ five year suspension would take them beyond it's­ useful life. also it is disingenuous of you to say that­ "anyone knows that mclaren basically stole nothing­ from ferrari" when in fact everyone knows that­ they received the stolen property from the thief. if­ your car was stolen from your drive and the toerag­ responsible passed it on to the ringers would you be­ happy to see those who sought to make illicit profit­ from your stolen car given no punishment? say for­ instance they were fined £100 but allowed to keep your­ car anyway. that is effectively what happened, and the­ punishment should have been just that. a real­ punishmemt to mclaren and a genuine deterrent to­ others.
    nor did i say it was why honda are leaving­ f1. i said it was a part of the reason, a factor they­ would have considered when deciding whether it would be­ good value to continue such a large investment in the­ team. on it's own not sufficient to tip the balance­ but as one of a list of cons playing a part in the­ decision.
    but yes you are right that i feel any type­ of car, note the word car, as opposed to the commercial­ vehicle you chose to extrapolate from my words, should­ be allowed within certain equalising parameters. but a­ better analogy than yours, i think, would be a lotus­ exige against a tesla roadster. not that, before you­ choose once more to read into my words that which is­ not there, i am suggesting the lotus and tesla are the­ formula one cars of the future, but if it is your­ choice to do so you will get my drift. the options­ should be open to engineers who wish to take them­ up.

    re scottish c:
    formula one existed long before­ mclaren and hamilton and will continue when they are­ gone. no team or driver is bigger than the sport, and­ it would be disastrous if they were, as that team could­ break any rule with complete impunity. so who's the­ idiot?

    From ronthedog, on Sat 6 Dec 6:16PM

  11. hello my little f1 bum chums it marion here from peru.­
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for­ life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say?­ you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company­ is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is­ the german engine. everything about the team is the­ german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat­ much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr­ hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact­ there nothing british about this team at all. even the­ man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to­ switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by­ the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and­ guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time­ stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in­ the time warp. not even the people abducted by the­ alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap.­ IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 6:13PM

  12. hello my little f1 bum chums it marion here from peru.­
    mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for­ life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say?­ you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company­ is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is­ the german engine. everything about the team is the­ german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat­ much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr­ hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact­ there nothing british about this team at all. even the­ man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to­ switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by­ the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and­ guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time­ stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in­ the time warp. not even the people abducted by the­ alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap.­ IT IS A DISGRACE!!!

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 6:09PM

  13. Bill Mac: Actually, it is my weekly mouron-bating­ session. Its something to do to pass the time until­ next season or I make it to the pub.

    c.bannister508: ­ Thanks very much. I do my best to remained level­ headed and sensible. Occassionally I go over the top,­ but every one can dream. How about a grid with­ Mclaren-Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW, Aston Martin-Prodrive,­ Williams-Cosworth, Red Bull-Lamborghini, Renault,­ Toyota, Force India-Bugatti, Toro Rosso-Bentley. All­ those prestigious names and engines in the back of the­ cars. Fan-f**king-tastic!

    From ginger_gitt, on Sat 6 Dec 5:43PM

  14. Ginge, would love to Aston Martin racing, did you see­ the top gear when one of the racing sports cars went­ round the track. It was like 5 seconds quicker than­ anything else. But they didn't put it on the list.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 5:06PM

  15. Voice why do you keep changing?

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 5:05PM

  16. c.bannister508: Thanks.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 5:03PM

  17. invalids again

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 5:00PM

  18. ginger_gitt: I had one of those stupid mouron arguments­ yesterday about this whole thing. As I said to mouron­ this stake is still on the Ford balance sheet, but the­ mouron just went on and on and got my posts pulled. You­ know, the usual mouron thing.
    He cuts and pastes and­ doesn't seem to realise how easy it is to find­ where he has cut it from. He then edits bits to make­ his argument.
    Just saying this to warn you that the­ brainless one will be at you soon so just ignore him.­ Although I think he might just be wind up, cos' I­ don't think anyone can be that stupid.

    From BigBill, on Sat 6 Dec 4:58PM

  19. c.bannister508, fine post! At last someone is talking­ sense, big time.

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 4:51PM

  20. superjohn_rtp, with respect, I'm sure if Honda­ could have recruited any sponsors, they'd have have­ had them like a flash. Eddie Jordan got out of F1,­ selling his team to 'Midland', when he­ couldn't get enough sponsorship. Eddie's timing­ was perfect.

    From , on Sat 6 Dec 4:50PM
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