FORMULA ONE 2009

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TEAM TORO ROSSO

Bourdais, Buemi, to also test for STR
Three drivers chasing two seats at Toro Rosso


It has emerged that the other contenders for seats at Toro Rosso next year will also appear at the next F1 test.

Out-of-work hopeful Takuma Sato, who dropped off the grid with the demise of the Super Aguri team early in 2008, is set to test for a third time with Faenza based STR at the Jerez outing next week, it was confirmed on Thursday.

The news indicates he is still strongly in the running for a race seat, but a team spokesperson on Thursday confirmed that he will not be alone in action at the wheel of a STR3 at the southern Spanish track.

Like 31-year-old Sato, his main contender Sebastien Bourdais is also scheduled to run for two days at Jerez.

The Swiss youngster Sebastien Buemi, meanwhile, who will almost certainly replace Sebastien Vettel at the team in 2009, will test on all three days of the test.

Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said recently an announcement about STR's drivers will be made before Christmas, but the spokesperson said no such deadline applies.

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UPDATE TEAM BMW LA PULAK

BMW keen on Championship fight

BMW have set their sights high for the 2009 season and revealed that their aim will be to fight for the Championship.


BMW board member Klaus Draeger made it clear that BMW will be looking to go as far as they possibly can.


"In 2009 we will fight for the Championship," Draeger said.


Team boss Mario Theissen confessed that he is however not entirely at ease with the idea.


"I don't feel comfortable but it's my own goal too and we have clear targets. F1 is definitely no comfort zone," he told reporters during a BMW motorsports event in Munich over the weekend.


The German squad finished third at the end of the 2008 season and Thiessen was content with the standings, despite BMW's inability to keep up with the development rate of other teams during the latter part of the year.


Theissen is confident that that BMW reached all their goals for the 2008 season.


"BMW kept its schedule that was set in 2005 after acquiring Sauber: to be in the points in 2006, to be on the podium in 2007, to be on the top podium 2008," he said.


"We made the two-way title campaign a three-way battle in the first half of the season. We did not have the fastest car in 2008, but the overall package counts.


"Reliability was an issue in 2007 and our focus on this in 2008 paid off as we had no single retirement because of a technical failure."

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TEAM HONDA  - UPDATE

TOKYO, Dec 5 - Honda Motor Co said on Friday chief executive Takeo Fukui will attend a briefing on Formula One motor racing at 1:30 p.m

A senior source at a rival team told Reuters on Thursday Honda is pulling out of F1 and will close its team down if no buyer is found by the end of the year.

naen

oOo wOw ..

tapi source berita tu dari team rival aa plak

me'acih h@i sbb pastekan berita

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Honda quits F1, blames tough business conditions

TOKYO, Dec 5 - Honda Motor Co <7267.T> said on Friday it is pulling out of Formula One motor racing.

Difficult business conditions led to the decision, chief executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference in Tokyo.

The company said it has no plans to continue as a supplier of engines for Formula One cars.

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  UPDATE PASUKAN HONDA (SUZUKA CIRCUIT)


TOKYO, Dec 5 - Honda Motor Co  said on Friday it is pulling out of Formula One motor racing, but that next year's Japan Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit would go ahead as planned

Honda chief executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference a return to the sport could take time and added that there were no plans to continue as an engine supplier.

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  HONDA LAGI....

Formula One: Mosley outlines plans to save F1


PARIS, Dec 5, 2008 (AFP) - World motorsport chief Max Mosley says he will push on with planned cost-cutting measures in a bid to sustain Formula One in the wake of Honda's shock decision to quit the sport.

Honda on Friday announced its withdrawal from Formula One over the global financial crisis, ending an involvement which began in the 1960s and raising fresh fears over the sport's future.

With one or more teams reported to be considering their options, FIA president Mosley says Honda's decision upholds the beliefs he expressed earlier this year that Formula One was was spending money beyond its means.

A FIA statement read: "The announcement of Honda's intended withdrawal from Formula One has confirmed the FIA's long-standing concern that the cost of competing in the world championship is unsustainable.

"In the FIA's view, the global economic downturn has only exacerbated an already critical situation.

"As the guardians of the sport, the FIA is committed to working with the commercial rights holder (Bernie Ecclestone) and the remaining members of FOTA (the Formula One Teams' Association) to ensure Formula One becomes financially sustainable."

Honda Motor president Takeo Fukui made the announcement at an emotional press conference, apologising to fans, staff, drivers and F1 authorities.

He said 2008 would be Honda's last season. The Japanese carmaker will not supply its engines to any other teams.

"This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the subprime problem in the United States," Fukui said.

Japan's number two automaker will hold consultations with the team's staff and drivers about their future, including a possible sale.

Both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were out of contract at the end of the season, but Honda had been expected to retain them both for 2009.

However, Friday's announcement means they are without a team which could spell the end of the road for Barrichello, the most experienced driver in Formula One history having raced in 271 Grand Prix, winning nine.

Honda first competed in F1 in 1964 and has since clocked up three Grand Prix wins, including Button's in Hungary in 2006.

The remaining nine teams, and there are now serious fears at least one more could fall by the wayside before the start of the season in Australia on March 29, have until next Thursday to sign up to the prospect of using a standardised engine.

Mosley has confirmed the FIA are now in exclusive negotiations with engine suppliers Cosworth, along with Xtrac and Ricardo (XR), for the use of transmissions.

If teams decide not to go with the standardised engine, they have two options open to them: the right to build an engine themselves, but identical to the Cosworth after being supplied with all the necessary technical information; continue to use their existing engine, but with the current ban on development and requirement for engine parity still in place.

In a letter dated Friday and sent to all team principals, Mosley confirms the cost to any team taking up the option will be an up-front payment of 1.68 million pounds (2.47 million dollars) then 5.49 million (8 million dollars) per season for each of the three years of the supply contract (2010, 2011, 2012).

In his letter, Mosley expresses his belief that the three choices will stabilise F1, enable independent teams to survive, and facilitate the replacement of a manufacturer team if, as he fears, additional losses are suffered.

If fewer than four teams sign up, Mosley confirms the FIA may still proceed, but the price on offer will vary. Mosley has also not ruled out the prospect of a breakaway series in the light of his stringent proposals.

A letter to the team principals dated November 18 reads: "We must recognise that in an extreme situation, not all teams may agree with our measures.

"We appreciate that in these circumstances some teams might decide not to enter the world championship and opt instead for some other professional racing series.

"We would, of course, not be concerned with the financial viability of a series which was not part of an FIA championship, nor with the amount of money spent by participants."

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Motor racing-Honda CEO apologises to Button for F1 pullout

TOKYO, Dec 5 - Honda's chief executive apologised to British driver Jenson Button after Japan's number two carmaker pulled the plug on its Formula One team on Friday.

Honda withdrew from Formula One with immediate effect on Friday, no longer willing to foot the estimated annual bill of $500 million amid the global economic crisis.

Button, a winner for Honda in Hungary in 2006, is in danger of being left without a drive next season, though some teams have yet to confirm their line-ups.

Brazilian Bruno Senna, the 25-year-old nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, had also been tipped to take the place of compatriot Rubens Barrichello at Honda in 2009.

"It's a real shame and I feel deeply sorry for Jenson Button," the CEO of Honda Motor Co <7267.T> Takeo Fukui told a news conference. "We had no choice in the current financial conditions."

Managing Director Hiroshi Oshima said he had informed team boss Ross Brawn and Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry of the decision and that both men had taken the news on the chin.

"I didn't speak to Jenson so I don't know his reaction," Oshima told reporters. "Ross and Nick were of course extremely disappointed but were very professional.

"They understood the economic climate and Honda's reasons for closing down the operation."

Fukui said Honda, who like its rivals has suffered a sharp decline in sales worldwide, was not thinking about a quick return to Formula One, either as a team or engine supplier.

The British-based team had a hugely disappointing 2008 season, although Fukui denied that poor results had contributed to the decision to pull out of the glamour sport.

Button scored just three points while Barrichello took 11 as Honda finished ninth overall in the constructors' championship.

"Results on the track this year have had absolutely nothing to do with our withdrawal," said Fukui. "It was a purely commercial decision. We must give priority to our core business."

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  TOLONG HONDA...........

Formula One: Honda official reveals potential buyers


LONDON, Dec 5, 2008 (AFP) - Honda CEO Nick Fry said Friday a trio of prospective buyers have already expressed a serious interest in taking over the stricken Formula One team.

Honda on Friday announced its withdrawal from Formula One over the global financial crisis, ending an involvement which began in the 1960s and raising fresh fears over the sport's future.

While there are fears other teams could follow suit, world motorsport chief Max Mosley said Honda's decision upholds his belief that important cost-cutting measures are vital if Formula One is to be sustained.

Fry meanwhile remains hopeful that new owners will be found and the team will be on the grid for the start of next season in Australia on March 29.

"In the last 12 hours we've had three serious people come to us and suggest they would like to buy the team, so we're still hoping to be there in Melbourne," Fry told BBC Radio 5 Live.

The development of next year's car is already at an advanced stage, with Fry believing as a going concern, the team in its present guise should be seen as a valuable commodity.

"The one thing I would say is that this is a completely different situation from prior Formula One teams stopping," added Fry.

"This team is one of the best funded, has the best assets, the best resources in the pit lane, a fantastic group of people, and a car designed by Ross Brawn, who has won many world championships, and is ready to go next year.

"I think we are going to be a desirable asset for somebody. We are very hopeful, as are most of the commentators in Formula One, that this team is going to take a big step upwards, so it is a big opportunity for somebody."

After six years supplying engines to BAR, Honda became a works team in their own right in 2006, with Jenson Button winning their only race to date in Hungary that year.

The last two years have been miserable for all concerned at Honda, who finished ninth in last season's constructors' championship, and with Button last of the 18 points-scoring drivers.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who faces the prospect of running an 18-car grid next season, firmly vouched for Honda's potential credentials.

"It's a big, big shame for Honda because I have no doubt they would have been running in the top four next year without any problems," he said.

"They have spent a lot of money to put themselves in that position, so if anyone does want to be in Formula One, this is a team they should certainly look to buy."

Asked whether F1 was in crisis, Ecclestone replied: "Formula One is in no bigger a crisis than any other company throughout the world - the world is in crisis at the moment.

"But the world won't stop, that's for sure."

Honda's withdrawal has confirmed FIA president Mosley's fears that the cost of competing in F1 is unsustainable. A FIA statement read: "In the FIA's view, the global economic downturn has only exacerbated an already critical situation.

"As the guardians of the sport, the FIA is committed to working with the commercial rights holder (Ecclestone) and the remaining members of FOTA (Formula One Teams' Association) to ensure Formula One becomes financially sustainable."

Mosley's primary proposal is the introduction of a standardised engine, to be supplied by Cosworth, and transmission from Xtrac and Ricardo from 2010

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NEWSMAKER-Honda CEO shatters personal dream with F1 pullout

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent

TOKYO, Dec 5 - For all the disappointment that fans will feel, few could be more heartbroken that Honda Motor  will leave the Formula One circuit than Takeo Fukui.

The chief executive of Japan's No.2 carmaker has followed his team's performance closely, travelling to the Singapore Grand Prix for his latest viewing in September.

When reporters ask about a race, the former amateur racer rarely skips a beat before launching into a commentary on what went wrong and how he feels about losing.

Fukui joined Honda almost 40 years ago because it was the only Japanese car maker at the time to have an F1 team. If he could, he told Reuters in May, he would spend "a trillion yen" to fix Honda's team, which had only racked up one win in the last eight years.

Since its inception, Honda has considered motor sports a symbol of its ambitions and a vital booster for its image.

When critics charged Honda with hypocrisy for participating in the fuel-guzzling sport while promoting a green image with its hybrid cars, Fukui steadfastly defended the F1 involvement as an inspiration for engineers to build great cars for the masses.

So the decision to effectively and indefinitely pull out of the world's most popular motor sport was not an easy one, Fukui said, making the announcement himself in a hastily called news conference at the company's Tokyo headquarters on Friday.

Honda had pulled out twice before since first joining in 1964, most recently getting back in the race in 2000 under Fukui's charge as the head of the motor sports division in his role as senior managing director.

FINANCIAL CRISIS

"It's disappointing to me, personally, that we're pulling out in this fashion, having left no good results," Fukui said, his voice quivering at one point as he delivered the news to a room packed with reporters, photographers and TV cameras.

"But I want this to be viewed as a sign of just how difficult the business has become," he added, citing crumbling sales in North America, Europe and many more markets around the world gripped by the worst financial crisis in nearly 80 years.

"But it's not just the economic crisis; the car industry has prospered for the past 100 years, and it's about to enter a vastly different stage -- the next 100 years -- and we need to prepare ourselves for that," he said.

Fukui, a former engineer who once greeted reporters on a racing track behind the wheel of an F1 car, said automakers worldwide were under pressure to come up with the kind of cars that no manufacturer has much experience making.

Developed countries are clamouring for alternative-fuel vehicles as they tighten emissions regulations, while customers in emerging economies such as India want price-beating, small cars that Honda does not have.

"We have 350 to 400 engineers working on F1, and they will be able to focus on these areas," he said. "I don't want to focus on the fact that we're quitting, but rather what we will have achieved in five years, by quitting."

Still, Fukui was leaving the future open for an F1 comeback one day.

"My feeling of wanting to stay in the race is still very strong," he said at the end of the hour-long press conference.

"I think being in some form of race is crucial for Honda. But we can do this in other ways -- in the MotoGP race, for instance, or in the challenge to develop new technology."

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Motor racing-Honda quit Formula One amid financial woe

TOKYO, Dec 5 - Honda delivered a major blow to Formula One on Friday by withdrawing from the sport with immediate effect, citing the uncertainty created by the global downturn.

Amid slumping car sales triggered by the worldwide slide, Japan's number two carmaker said it was no longer willing to bankroll the Formula One team and its estimated annual budget of $500 million.

Honda Motor Co <7267.T> Chief Executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference a return to the sport could take time, and that there were no plans to continue as an engine supplier.

"This difficult decision was taken recently and was made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry," Fukui told reporters.

"Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economics around the globe continue to mount.

"We will enter into consultation with associates of Honda Racing F1 and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale."

Fukui, who told Reuters this year that he would "spend a trillion yen" if he could to make Honda a Formula One winner, said there would be no speedy return to the sport.

"At this stage we have no plans to return to F1. We have no plans to supply engines to other teams," he said. "We do not want to be half in and half out of the sport."

SENSIBLE SPENDING

Honda would in any case have little time to find a buyer with the 2009 season starting in Australia on March 29.

"We would love to be able to continue in Formula One but we're simply not able to in the current financial climate," Fukui said.

"At testing in Barcelona last month we were still positive about racing in F1 next season.

"But we have to use our resources sensibly. As far as potential buyers go, our criterion would be that they continue to employ the hundreds of engineers who work for the Honda team."

Honda, like all of its rivals suffering from a sharp fall in global car sales, saw its sales in the United States, its biggest market, slump 32 percent last month.

"ulling out of F1 will have a big impact in terms of cutting overall costs," said Fukui. "The most important thing for Honda is to see where we are in the next three to five years."

With Formula One's power-brokers desperately seeking cost-cutting measures to ensure its own survival, Honda's departure will have serious implications for the glamour sport.

It also leaves Britain's Jenson Button without a drive for 2009, although some teams have yet to confirm their lineups.

Brazilian Bruno Senna, the 25-year-old nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, had also been tipped to take the place of compatriot Rubens Barrichello at Honda next season.

Honda's exit leaves the multi-billion dollar sport facing a depleted grid of 18 cars if no buyer can be found in the extremely tight time-frame available.

It will also prompt fears that other major manufacturers, with their factory production suspended and thousands of staff laid off, could follow Honda's example.

BIG SPENDERS

Honda and Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> have been the big spenders in Formula One in recent years.

Ross Brawn, the former Ferrari technical director who won multiple world championships with Michael Schumacher, was hired to run the Honda team at the end of last year.

Despite its huge resources, Honda had a dismal 2008 season and was pinning its hopes on next year's new rules levelling the playing field.

Button, a winner for Honda in Hungary in 2006, scored just three points and Barrichello took 11. The team finished ninth overall.

Honda's best finish in the constructors' championship was fourth, in 1967 and 2006, although they powered McLaren and Williams to a string of titles in the 1980s and 1990s.

The last team to leave Formula One was Honda-backed Super Aguri, the tail-enders who folded for financial reasons in April.

The sport's governing body said on Friday that Cosworth would provide Formula One teams with a low-cost engine option from 2010.

International Automobile Federation President Max Mosley said the body was in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth, Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions to provide a complete powertrain .

"We can get the cost down from the current 200 million pounds down to about 30 million pounds at which point the income from television and the income from sponsors covers it and you don't need these huge subsidies from the car industry," Mosley said. (Additional reporting by Alan Baldwin in London and Chang-Ran Kim; editing by Ed Osmond and Peter Rutherford)

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Fry confident of finding buyer for Honda

Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry is optimistic that a new owner will be found for the team following Friday抯 announcement that parent company Honda are withdrawing from Formula One racing.

The Japanese car giant has put the team up for sale and Fry and other senior management are now in a race against time to find a buyer ahead of the 2009 season. However, he says they have already received several serious enquiries.

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

Honda have experienced only limited success in recent years, finishing a lowly ninth in the 2008 constructors

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Honda Put Formula One Team Up For Sale


Honda have announced that it plans to sell its Formula One team after the Japanese car manufacturer抯 decision to withdraw from the sport in light of difficult conditions in the global auto market.

The current Honda team was formed in 2000 after the company took over the former BAR squad, transforming it into a works team in 2006. Honda now hope to have new owners in place ahead of the 2009 season.

Team principal Ross Brawn and team CEO Nick Fry are expected to be closely involved in the evaluation of potential buyers, with speculation also arising that Brawn could call on contacts at his former team, Ferrari, to help secure a new engine supply deal.

Honda抯 original Formula One involvement began in the 1960s, American Richie Ginther scoring their maiden win at the 1965 Mexico Grand Prix. Absent from competition in the

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Cosworth WIN FIA STANDARD ENGINE TENDER

The legendary Cosworth name could return to Formula One racing in 2010 if the FIA pushes ahead with plans to introduce standardised engines, one of three options being offered to the teams should they fail to come up with their own viable cost-cutting measures.

The FIA revealed on Friday that they are in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth, along with gearbox specialists Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions (XR), to supply a complete low-cost power train that will be made available to all teams. The engine will be based on the current V10 specification, while the gearbox will be an all-new, state-of-the-art unit.

The other engine options being proposed by the FIA are for teams to build their own engines to Cosworth抯 specifications, or to continue with their current 慺rozen

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Cosworth wins FIA engine tender
Mosley pushing on with spec-powerplants


Cosworth has won the tender to supply a low-cost engine and transmission package in 2010 and beyond, Formula One's governing body announced on Friday.

In the wake of Honda's shock departure from the sport, the FIA said in a statement that the news confirmed its fears about the current financial format, and sent a letter to team bosses.

It is revealed that the cost to teams wanting to use the un-badged Cosworth engine option will be $2m euros, plus 5.5 million euros each season.

"The annual cost will reduce if more (than four) teams take up the option," FIA President Max Mosley wrote.

Teams not wanting to use the standard engine have 'the right to build an engine themselves', or a de-tuned version of their current 2.4 litre V8s, but must use a standard transmission supplied by Ricardo Transmissions, a British company.

Mosley said the measures will help small teams survive, and also pave the way for the replacement of more outgoing manufacturers, 'as seems likely' to be necessary.

He wants four teams to sign up the scheme by next Thursday, or the price may go up.

FIA Press Release
The announcement of Honda抯 intended withdrawal from Formula One has confirmed the FIA抯 longstanding concern that the cost of competing in the World Championship is unsustainable

In the FIA抯 view, the global economic downturn has only exacerbated an already critical situation.

As the guardians of the sport, the FIA is committed to working with the commercial rights holder and the remaining members of FOTA to ensure that Formula One becomes financially sustainable.

The FIA President has today sent the attached letter to all of the Formula One teams:

Further to my letter of 18 November, we have completed the tendering process and are now in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth together with Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions to supply a complete Formula One power train starting in 2010.

The engine will be a current Formula One engine while the transmission will be state of the art Formula One and a joint effort by two companies which already supply transmissions to most of the grid.

The cost to each team taking up this option will be an up front payment of

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Honda could call off pre-Christmas tests
Button calls for team unity


Jenson Button on Friday reacted to the news he could be without a race seat for the 2009 season by travelling to Honda's Brackley factory.

It was business as usual at the UK facility, on the outskirts of the town in south Northamptonshire, even though in a best-case scenario many of the 700-strong workforce may be laid off.

"We need to stay positive ourselves and as one team because if we are not, no one will be interested in taking it over," the 28-year-old British driver said, according to AP.

One group of designers were said to already be working on accommodating a different engine in the 2009 car, after Honda said from Tokyo it did not want to be "half in and half out" of the sport by remaining as a mere supplier.

The race is on to find a serious buyer before Christmas, and - if that is the case - Honda is willing to keep the factory running and staff fully paid up so that a deal can be finalised in time for the first Grand Prix of 2009 in March. If the team is sold, Button's contract might extend to the new owners.

"I believe we have got a front-running car already designed," said boss Ross Brawn, although it is believed he has called off the team's attendance at the two Jerez tests scheduled before Christmas.


  GO BUTTON GO..

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Exclusive Fisichella Q&A: I抳e been promised a competitive package


Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better. After zero points in 2008, Force India owner Vijay Mallya has made a shrewd move in signing a technical partnership with McLaren-Mercedes for 2009.

It抯 raised the probability of the team fielding a competitive car - and it抯 certainly raised the spirits of veteran driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who insists he has a waterproof contract for next season, despite recent rumours to the contrary

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Rosberg Q&A: I want to return Williams to the glory days


For a petrol head like Frank Williams, seeing his team slip down the grid this season must have been painful to watch. And it was equally saddening for driver Nico Rosberg, the much acclaimed German youngster, who has been touted as a possible future world champion. Whenever the FW30 had a good day Rosberg was there to bag the points. However, those occasions were too rare to satisfy his ambitions. But with 2009抯 wide-ranging regulation changes promising a shake-up, Rosberg hopes have been restored, as he explained exclusively to Formula1.com...

Q: Nico, aside from your podiums in Australia and Singapore there was not much to cheer about for you this year...
Nico Rosberg: Well, I appreciate the very positive start of the interview. It obviously was a very disappointing season for me in general. I had high hopes with the team, especially after 2007. I really thought that we would be able to carry the momentum into

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Vettel Q&A: We have to be even more focused without Webber


Mark Webber抯 weekend accident comes as a blow to Red Bull Racing抯 2009 preparations. With so many regulation changes looming, it is now up to the incoming Sebastian Vettel to do the main work in setting up the RB5. After his dream season with Toro Rosso, there is little doubt Vettel will rise to the challenge. Speaking exclusively to Formula1.com, the German youngster reflects on his breakthrough

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Exclusive interview - BMW Sauber抯 Heidfeld


Dubbed 慟uick Nick