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Is there anything in this world that billionaire Richard Branson isn't interested in? The British tycoon already has over 360 ventures under the control his Virgin Group, and he may soon add another. According to an unnamed spokesperson for Honda, Branson is in discussions, along with other unknown interested parties, to purchase the erstwhile Formula 1 team that was formerly part of a factory-backed effort from the Japanese automaker.

The 2009 F1 season begins in Australia on March 29, and officials for the ex-Honda racing team have been under frantic negotiations to get their stars aligned and cars on the starting grid ever since Honda announced it was pulling its support from the team late last year. Current speculation suggests that the team may use engines from Mercedes-Benz, though a decision on the team's fate would need to be made as quickly as possible.

F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has said that he's personally spoken with Branson about the possibility and has offered public support for Virgin's bid.

[Source: Reuters]

Richard Branson's Virgin Group interested in Honda F1 team originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ross Brawn, who joined the Honda F1 team as Technical Director in 2007 after an extremely successful stint across the paddock at Ferrari, has said that the now-ownerless ex-Honda F1 team he manages would like to ink a deal with its Italian competitor for engines to power its Formula 1 racers. Now that Honda has officially pulled its factory support from the program, the team will need a good, reliable powerplant if it has any chance remaining competitive, and Ferrari already supplies engines to Scuderia Toro Rosso and Force India in addition to its own Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro factory effort.

Regardless of what powerplant Brawn's team chooses, it isn't likely to get an early shot at testing. At this point, the team is just looking to stay on the track as it attempts to find itself a new buyer and any success found on the track for the '09 season would just be icing on the cake. Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: F1 Fanatic - Photo: Tim Wang CC 2.0]

Ferrari may supply engines for Honda's ex-F1 team originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors yesterday indicated that Honda would be dropping out of Formula 1 for the 2009 season if a buyer wasn't quickly found. Today, CEO Takeo Fukui has made Honda's exit official. As you would imagine, racing at the top rung of motorsports is expensive, and despite the acknowledgment of such from top F1 officials and the growing sentiment that it needs to get cheaper, that's not going to happen in 2009. With global automotive sales, and therefore profits, down by alarming percentages, Honda can no longer justify its F1 racing investments and believes that the money could be better spent elsewhere. It should be noted that Honda has only had a single Grand Prix victory way back in 2006, so its significant yearly multi-million dollar investment has never really paid off anyway. An official statement from Fukui, who thanks Honda's fans for their support, is pasted after the break.

[Source: Honda, Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty]

Continue reading Officially Official: Honda exits F1 before 2009 season

Officially Official: Honda exits F1 before 2009 season originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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