Alonso poised for $15m Honda switch – report
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| Fernando Alonso salutes the crowd |
| Renault |
10/11/08 (GMM) Honda chief executive Nick Fry on Saturday admitted Fernando Alonso is holding up the Japanese team's driver plans for 2009.
The Brackley based squad hosted its usual pre-Japanese grand prix press conference in the week, where it was expected next year's driver lineup would be announced.
But Fry said at Fuji Speedway that Honda is not ready.
"We want to announce both drivers at the same time, and at the moment we're not in a position to do that because we're awaiting a yes or a no from a certain person," he told the British broadcaster ITV.
"So until we get that we're just going to hang on."
Pressed for confirmation that the "certain person" is former double world champion Alonso, Fry replied: "You're a good guesser."
It is expected that, if signed, Alonso would partner Jenson Button next year rather than the Briton's current teammate Rubens Barrichello.
"We'll announce that when we announce both drivers," Fry explained.
The Honda Formula 1 team is in no rush to announce its drivers for next season team boss Ross Brawn revealed on Saturday. The Briton has said the team will make a final decision on its driver line-up after the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Current Honda F1 drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are uncertain about their future. Jenson Button is most likely to stay for another season with Honda while Barrichello is likely to be replaced.
Team boss Ross Brawn explains the team's current situation: "We haven't set a date to make a final decision on our drivers but it will be after the season has come to an end. We're not in a rush."
09/06/08 (GMM) Honda principal Ross Brawn on Saturday left the Japanese team's own drivers out of his assessment of the top three or four drivers in formula one.
It is known that the Brackley based squad wants to sign former double world champion Fernando Alonso for the 2009 season, and Brawn told reporters at Spa-Francorchamps that he thinks the Spaniard is the best driver on the grid.
"My view is that he's the best driver in formula one at the moment and we're happy to wait and hope that he makes a positive decision for us," the Briton said in Belgium.
Brawn said he would put two other "very quick drivers" in the same league as Alonso.
"There's Lewis, there's Kimi and Fernando. And Felipe is coming up very quickly and closely behind," he said, without mentioning Honda's own Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.
Brawn explained that if he had a free pick of any of the drivers he mentioned, he would hire Alonso.
"Lewis is clearly very quick, a super guy but doesn't have the experience yet. Kimi doesn't have the reputation of being a person who can develop a car strongly but is very quick," he added.
08/04/08 (GMM) Fernando Alonso is set to sign a $15m deal to race with Honda in 2009, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.
The former double world champion is keen to return to winning ways as soon as possible following his disastrous McLaren tenure in 2007 and a return to an uncompetitive Renault team this year.
But he may not see Honda, the Japanese squad based in Brackley (UK), as a long-term employer, as speculation still reigns that the 27-year-old faces an open door to switch to Ferrari perhaps in 2010.
The Guardian said veteran racer Rubens Barrichello would be the one to make way for Alonso in 2009.
"Fernando is a wonderful driver who would be a fantastic asset to any of the top teams, including this one," said team chief executive Nick Fry.
"The job Ross and I have is to build a world championship-winning team," he added.
08/02/08 (GMM) Honda chiefs in Hungary stepped up the rhetoric as they bid to attract Fernando Alonso to the Japanese team for 2009 and beyond.
"We'd love to have him," team principal Ross Brawn said, "because he is the best.
"Of all the drivers right now, he is the only one that I see as totally complete, as Michael (Schumacher) was," the Briton is quoted as saying by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Alonso, 27, is a former double world champion, but his run of titles stopped when he made his disastrous move to McLaren in 2007, and subsequently returned to a less competitive Renault team this year.
Honda chief executive Nick Fry said: "Hopefully Fernando decides to come to us.
"We have developed a very advanced KERS system and we are working very hard on the car for next year.
"We have four wind tunnels, one of them in Japan, working on the project, which is well under way.
"If Alonso is with us, we can have a winning team," Fry added.
It is understood Alonso is seeking a one-year contract for 2009, amid speculation he wants to move on to Ferrari in 2010.
Brawn, however, said Honda want minimally a firm two-year commitment from Alonso.
"It would have to be at least for two years because that is the time we would need, with Fernando's help, to become a winning team and then convince him to be with us even longer.
"But when someone gets married, they always think it is for life," Brawn told the Spanish language newspaper.
He suggested that only the arrival of Alonso for next year would convince Honda to replace either Jenson Button or Rubens Barrichello, who are both out of contract.
"We are happy with the performance of our drivers. At this time, I don't know which one of them would move for Fernando, because Rubens is doing well at the moment."
07/22/08 (GMM) Honda is stepping up its efforts to lure Fernando Alonso to the Japanese team for 2009 and beyond, according to a British newspaper on Tuesday.
The Daily Telegraph says that while team bosses Ross Brawn and Nick Fry are not interested in a single-season deal as has been speculated, they see the Spaniard as the ideal teammate for Jenson Button going forwards.
"I don't think it's anything specific to Fernando but in my view it's too short a period to be able to integrate a driver and get full benefit," Fry said at Hockenheim, when asked about rumors linking Alonso with Honda only for 2009.
The Telegraph claims Fry and Brawn have "made Alonso a name-your-price offer" for a longer-term deal, even though Brawn answered "yes" at Hockenheim when asked if Honda plans to use its current driver lineup in 2009.
The very next day, he backtracked, insisting "nothing is certain" in terms of next year's team.
Brackley based Honda, although an under-performer particularly this year and last, has resources to match top teams McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari.
Moreover, it is no secret that the team has effectively shelved the 2008 season in the hope of capitalizing fully on the major regulations changes for 2009.
"The plan is really designing the car Ross wants for next year, and this year is about getting everything as Ross wants it in the way the team operates," Fry, team CEO, confirmed.