Tokyo / Cologne - Sayonara, Honda! Japan's second largest car company immediately gets out of Formula 1.
All payments to the Brackley team will be stationed in the English set. The entire Formula 1 will be shocked. Now the death of the champions league?
The financial crisis and the still deteriorating crisis car to keep the world in suspense.
nd even if) a veteran of Formula 1 (6 championship titles as engine supplier previously acclaimed advertising platform is leaving in order to save billions of light-years winnings paltry 390 million euro budget, the question arises: Who is next?
"This will be only the beginning," predicts Gerhard Berger, who has just sold back its 50 percent stake in Toro Rosso to Red Bull billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz.
Even BMW and Mercedes sales suffer burglary. But they will remain. And it has three good reasons:
1. They are not so dependent on the "dead" U.S. market, such as Honda and Toyota. The units sold in the last quarter to 30 percent fewer cars.
2. They have their F1 budget as opposed to ad-free Honda mostly covered by sponsorships.
3. You need to Formula 1 as a global showcase her - from her self-image - technically superior premium products.
"The contribution by Mercedes-Benz cost-efficient," says Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug. "The media coverage that generated the last season and Lewis Hamilton's title win was worth many times more than what we have used to finance." Even BMW team boss Mario Theissen: "Formula 1 racing pays off for us."
And Toyota? The Japanese giant will adhere to the absolute threshold of pain at the Cologne team. President John Howett: "Formula 1 is an engineering competition. If not change that, we will stay until at least 2012. "
But what about the Honda team with star driver Jenson Button? There has blown ex-Michael Schumacher mastermind Ross Brawn in 2009 a major attack. Moreover, should make his debut-Senna's nephew Bruno.
Honda wants to sell for the symbolic price of 1 €. Team boss Nick Fry: "There are two or three global players who want to take the team." One season, however, will cost 150 million euros.
