Honda F1 Buyout?

Strange rumours are seeping out of Honda F1 with regards to the teams future. Bosses at the Japanese corporation’s headquarters announced in December that they were pulled out of competition with immediate effect and since then there has been a rush to find buyers.

Although no buyer has yet been announced, a number of rumours has developed in the last couple of days to suggest that the teams’ problem may have been resolved.

Word began to spread on Friday morning that 2008 GP2 championship runner-up, Bruno Senna (nephew of the great Ayrton Senna) has signed for the upcoming season – which was odd as no buyer had been announced. However, once the news about Senna started to spread, some noise was being made about Mercedes supplying engines and that F1 commercial chief – Bernie Ecclestone – was making no small contribution. The Senna deal would also have Brazilian sponsors lining up in their droves to get their name associated with him and as a result, the 25-year-old may face himself under a level of scrutiny never before seen in the sport – even to the point where it outdoes Hamilton-mania.

The most intriguing thing about a possible buyout is the it might be lead by Nick Fry – the man who in many people’s eyes was responsible for Honda’s downfall in the first place. Whether he can steer the team in the right direction without Honda’s influence remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – this could be make or break for Honda (or whatever they decide to call themselves in Melbourne).
Should all this talk about a takeover be true, the team will then face an uphill battle to be completely ready for the Grand Prix in Australia in the last weekend in March. There are not many test sessions left and they’re going to be readying the cars and systems for the first race around the second week of March. As a result, they have next to no shakedown time and with testing banned during the season, they have next to no time to ready their machine.