25/02/2009
NEWS STORY
No news is good news, goes the old adage, however, many feel that no news is no news.
The countdown towards Melbourne continues, and despite the passing of various deadlines, positive rumours, negative comments and endless speculation, it's almost business as usual at Brackley.
The week began with outgoing Honda Motor Company CEO Takeo Fukui glumly admitting that his company has not seen a "serious buyer yet," adding that Honda finds the whole sale process "difficult".
Nonetheless, the doors at Brackley remain wide open, and though there has been no official comment, there appears to be a general air of positivity.
Pitpass reported earlier this week that according to its sources there is already one complete car at Brackley, and when we say complete, we mean complete with Mercedes engine. However, with the sale of the team still in limbo Mercedes will need to see what happens next before the 'partnership' develops and becomes official.
Nick Fry, recently described by SportsPro magazine as "the worst manager ever to work in sport", has remained uncharacteristically silent, while Ross Brawn, of whom little has been heard since he said the team was hoping to do a deal with Ferrari, is said to be confident that an eleventh-hour deal will be done.
The Englishman is not only confident that the team will be on the grid in Melbourne, but that it might even take part in the final pre-season test at Barcelona. "We only need the green light and then we can go," Blick quotes him as saying.
Until the team issues an official statement the speculation - no matter how wild - will continue, and various people will be linked to the team. However, most of the scenarios currently doing the rounds centre on a management buy-out but with Fry moving on to pastures new.
One name that continues to be linked with the Brackley outfit however, is that of Fry's former boss at Prodrive, indeed, the man who took him to Brackley in the first place, David Richards.
Despite Richards' previous claims that F1 remains too expensive, the continuing efforts of the FIA and FOTA to reduce costs, the involvement of Mercedes and the departure of Mr Fry could all prove too much of an incentive for the Englishman.