Aguri to race 2002 F1 car

UPDATE #2 Rumor has it that this is nothing other than a function of Bernie holding the axe over Honda for refusing to sign the new Concorde Agreement ensuring his coffers, and Formula One under Bernie, continue to be filled. Honda have been told if they will sign the Agreement then magically there would be no conflict with the existing Concorde Agreement and BAR would be free to sell their year old chassis and the intellectual property rights to Aguri and run the BAR 2005 cars next year.

What this demonstrates quite clearly is that Honda have decided to hold out despite the huge advantages to its new team to sign and therefore Honda are obviously still actively considering participating in a breakaway league with the other Manufactures, less Ferrari.

At the end of the day (Dec 2006) Bernie will most likely still win out because he controls all the premium track agreements, broadcast rights and time slots, etc. and the impact not to go with Bernie would hugely impact all the sponsors to an extent that it would make if very difficult for the threatened breakaway series ever to see the light of day.

11/24/05 Paul Stoddart believes his four-year old Arrows cars represent Super Aguri's only option to race on the 2006 tracks.

But the departing team boss, at Vallelunga where he will clock up Minardi's last ever lap after the sale to Red Bull, clarified reports in the German media that he had already sold the four or five Mike Coughlan-penned A23s and their intellectual property rights.

''We are negotiating with (Aguri),'' Australian-born Stoddart told Reuters. ''It is something that is very do-able.''

The Arrows option, that would see the formerly orange-painted, four-year-old (2002) F1 cars on the 2006 grid, is a last resort after the FIA warned that running a season-old BAR-Honda would contravene the binding 'Concorde Agreement'.

Building a car from scratch, too, is impossible within the now 3.5 month timescale to Bahrain.

11/22/05 Honda B-team? Aguri Suzuki's prospective 2006 outfit, Super Aguri F1, could probably be more aptly described as 'Arrows reincarnated'.

Based at Arrows' old Leafield HQ, it is now reported that the Japanese team has bought four 2002-spec 'A23' Arrows cars from Minardi boss Paul Stoddart.

Because it does not have time to build a unique car, and FIA regulations forbid the use of BAR-Honda's '007' challenger, Suzuki's latest plan could put a four-year-old chassis on the 2006 F1 grid.

Arrows' '02 car was designed by the highly rated Mike Coughlan, who moved to McLaren when Tom Walkinshaw's British based F1 team collapsed.

Stoddart bought the orange cars at auction and re-painted them black in 2003, but conducted back-to-back tests and decided that the A23 was not significantly faster than the 2003 Minardi model.