Do you think F1 Honda is going to implode?

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 00:47

Honda Racing boss Nick Fry says three potential buyers for the Formula One team have emerged since the Japanese company said they were pulling out.



Honda revealed on Friday that they were quitting for financial reasons.



"In the last 12 hours we've had three serious people come and suggest they'd like to buy the team," he told the BBC.



"We're one of the best-funded teams and have the best assets and resources in the pit lane - we'll be quite a desirable asset for somebody."



It's a fantastic opportunity for someone to step into what will be a very competitive team next year



Ross Brawn

Honda team principal



Despite a sizeable budget, Honda have struggled in recent years, their sole victory of the modern era coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006.

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 01:10

Sign of the times Groucho .



I work for Honda and at the moment we are doing one week on, one week off



Not good mate ! It has been coming for a whle,the racing team have been



crap for three years now.



The factory in Swindon is shutting productiion down fior the whole of Febuary



and March !!!



Honda are the first to do this,the rest will follow !

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 01:35

You can not downsize your workforce put people on shortime and generally make cost cutting procedures and keep things like Honda Racing fully funded.



Morally this is wrong and Honda realise this.

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 02:02

Spot on Turtle



If they had kept F1 going losing millions and put the bread and butter workers on short time it would have been very interesting ..

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 08:00

Most of the sponsors regard the advertising and kudos as money well spent for their marque... especially as it can all be written down in the accounts and knocked off the tax bill....



I wonder what the knock-on effect will be?

i.e. loss of sales due to loss of prestige...



Anyway that was not really the purpose of my thread, which was, to find out if any F1 fans on this BB thought being bought up (as is expected to happen) would save the team... as you point out they have not been the most successful in the last three years....



Arrry



Sorry to here about the plight of the Swindon workers, I know too that the town and the general area rely heavily on income derived from the proximity of the plant..



We used to live in the Hungerford area and it was obvious that workers live and spend their money all around the area...

Bilko


Joined: 11/03/2008
Posts: 98

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 10:52

The Honda F1 Team is based in Brackley Northants. (Formerly known as BAR - British Americam Racing). The 800 workers and local contractors were in fear of thier jobs when I was in the town last week. The Red Lion pub on the Market Square was full of the white jacketed petrolheads each lunchtime and there was misery and uncertainty all round. All seemed to be pessamistic about a new buyer coming forward: they felt the team 'wasn't good enough' and in the present economic climate the whole of F1 was under threat.

Let's hope they are proved to be wrong - perhaps Brackley, a small market town on the A43, needs Honda more than Swindon does! ... and what would we watch on Sundays during the summer? Nothing else compares.

Best to all

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 11:02

"We're one of the best-funded teams and have the best assets and resources in the pit lane - we'll be quite a desirable asset for somebody."



Nice words from Nick Fry, butmaybe the real fall of he F1 team WAS money !



Maybe Honda have been cutting back over the last couple of years and



that is why they have fallen back in the pit lane !



I deliver into Brackley quite often and the general mood there has not been



good for a long time.It's funny when Jensen was doing really well two



seasons ago ,the Factory and Brackley were buzzing but not now,



Talking to the guys that drive the transporters all over the world,their



mood is not good and they are fearing for their jobs !!

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 11:41

Bilko,



My cousin works for them, used to work for Frank Williams making the body shells from composite materials... got taken on by Frank partly on the basis of his guitar playing in the days when Damon Hill was there and jamming and rock music was the relaxation method of choice.



He moved to BAR and I believe he now works for Honda so I'm hoping they survive...

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 22:20

When you listen to the wages that are being metioned i.e.£20million for Jenson Button and the other drivers and then there were the engineers etc it was costing them over 300million a year. that is very serious money,and I can only say I am not surprised and I dont think they will be the only ones either....

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
06/12/2008 23:40

£300m a year and no real progress over the last 3 years.

Perhaps this was an easy target for cost cutting and we all know that Honda will not accsociate themselves with failure so it had to go