16/12/2008
NEWS STORY
While F1 slaps itself on the back convinced that the raft of measures to be introduced in 2009 and beyond will help it survive the current global financial crisis, things are not so good elsewhere.
Just one day after Suzuki announced that it was pulling out of the World Rally Championship (WRC), Subaru has dealt the sport another huge blow with today's announcement that it too is pulling out.
In the last 24-hours there have been silly stories linking Peugeot/Citroen with a possible buy-out of the Honda F1 team, leading to the French giant issuing a firm denial to a story that never was.
The fact is, that despite the new measures, no car manufacturer can guarantee it will ride out the current crisis far less continue with 'pet projects' such as F1. The bottom line is the balance sheet it isn't about saving face… ask Honda.
The WRC has been rocked in the last 24 hours, and it would be foolhardy, to put it mildly, for anyone to try to say that Honda will be the only victim in F1.