New Honda team to be called ‘Brawn GP’?
03/02/09 (GMM) With the Ross Brawn-led management buyout said to have been approved by Honda's Tokyo board, speculation about the Brackley based team's new name is now rife.
We reported last week that the neutral 'Brackley F1' was a frontrunner, but another likely alternative has now emerged.
Although reference to a specific individual was thought unlikely, due to the several officials (and therefore shareholders) involved in the buyout, the team may in fact use principal Ross Brawn's name, rumors suggest.
The internet domain brawnracing.com and similar iterations have reportedly been registered in recent days by Caroline McGrory, who has been the Honda team's legal counsel for some years.
The latest rumors, meanwhile, suggest that the airline Emirates may be lined up as a 2009 title sponsor.
Also whispered is that while former chief executive Nick Fry is no longer leading the buyout, he may still be involved in the team's new guise, although not as chief executive.
There had been suggestions that the team might make it to Jerez this week for the penultimate group test of the pre-season, but the session kicked off on Sunday without Honda.
At a recent media gathering, however, Williams' Adam Parr indicated he believes the team's survival is likely.
"The fact that they are still talking is important because if Honda wasn't faced with any serious opportunity then they would have called it a day," the Grove team's chief executive said, referring to recent events.
Parr added: "So the fact that we are four weeks away from the start of the season and they are still making kit must mean that Honda are taking the proposals very seriously."