30/01/2008
NEWS STORY
Amidst growing speculation over the future of the Super Aguri team, Honda has said that it will continue to assist the Leafield-based outfit headed by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, but at a price.
Talking to Reuters at the launch of its own 2008 contender, Honda F1 Team Chief Executive, Nick Fry, said that his team would continue assisting Super Aguri but in return would require technical feedback, and that would mean employing drivers capable of giving it.
This no doubt means that the Japanese team, which for much of 2007 led Honda in the Constructors' Championship, will probably continue to employ Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, who spent several years with Honda (and BAR) as test driver.
However, when Reuters Alan Baldwin claimed to have heard rumours of an Indian consortium buying into Super Aguri, which might suggest a possible route back to F1 for Narain Karthikeyan, Fry was quick to slam the door, certainly as far as the Indian racer is concerned.
"We were instrumental in requiring Super Aguri to have drivers of an appropriate standard," said Fry. "To ensure that the engineering feedback is consistent, you have got to have people who are of a standard. Anthony is definitely one of the people who is of that standard. I would not personally be convinced that the driver you mentioned (Karthikeyan) would be of an acceptable standard for us."
Although Fry admitted that assisting Super Aguri tends to detract Honda from its own efforts, he said his team remained committed to its Japanese 'cousin'.
"The intent for 2008 is that Aguri will be on the grid," he said, "but clearly what Ross (Brawn) and I need to do, and are doing, is ensure that this doesn't detract from our primary job. At this stage, the intent is that they will be on the grid with Honda engines and support. Exactly how much of that support comes from here is being worked on at the moment."