Mercedes could help Honda 'for the sake of F1'

Wednesday 14th January 2009

Just days after Ferrari announced that they won't be supplying engines to Honda, German manufacturer Mercedes opened the door to the possibility of teaming up with the beleaguered outfit.

Honda are still hopeful they will find a buyer before the start of the season and team boss Ross Brawn admitted earlier this month that he contacted Ferrari about a possible deal for the 2009 season.

However, Scuderia team boss Stefano Domenicali made it clear on Monday that this is not an option for them, saying: "the chance of us supplying engines to Honda is close to zero".

Brawn's mood will have brightened in the last couple of days, though, as Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has revealed that they could come to Honda's aid should the Japanese manufacturer find a new backer before the season starts.

"If there is a feasible solution with an investor for that team, we would be prepared to discuss it," Haug told Autosport. "But the financial background needs to be there.

"You cannot give any presents at this time and in this (financial) climate, but we would like to help for the sake of Formula One. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and their guys have done a good job so far, so if we could be in a position to help we certainly could try to do so.

"But the financial feasibility is very important. It needs to be 100 per cent bulletproof.

"This is not ideal timing. We have lots to do with KERS and the new rev limit and so on, which is a really big task."

Your Comments

Robbie08

"watchcam, now be fair, the M25 is always chock-a-block with traffic LOL and the last time i checked, there was never any roadworks with contraflows on any F1 track i've seen....... though come to think of it..... that'd make for some interesting racing LOL.

and once again robson spews his hatred of all things that are not red by finding some way of worming in the "spygate" thing again even though this is about HONDA not McLaren."

Rochester

"Dear spacemensplif....POSSESION of stolen goods is a FELONY....same as if you stole them yourself.....ask a lawyer. McLAREN were guilty of ILLEGALY trying to gain an 'edge', got caught and got their 'pee-pee' slapped...get over it."

WOMBAT_F1

"All PR speak, IF Honda is sold it will be too late but to have anything but another settling in (read wasted) year the engine won't matter."

spacedmansplif

"Yes Robson, Honda does have Ferrari technical data...he is called Ross Brawn...another affiliate of Ferrari willing to part with their data...How come Ferrari's (ex) employees are so eager to part with the data? And if you could cast your 1 braincell back to 2007, McLaren wasn't found guilty of theft of the documents, only of being in POSSESION. A Ferrari numbnut gave it to McLaren, for free if I'm not mistaken"

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