Honda are reportedly set to quit Formula One because of the worldwide credit crunch
JAPANESE team Honda was reported on Thursday to be considering pulling out of Formula One as the worldwide credit crunch continues to threaten the sport.
The BBC claimed that the team could make an announcement as early as Saturday (EDT).
"The Japanese company hopes to sell its team, which costs £200 million ($455m) a year to run, but is prepared to close the team early in 2009 if no buyer is found," said the BBC website.
"Sources told BBC Sport the team were "optimistic" they would continue, but no investor had yet been found."
The respected
www.autosport.com website claimed it had been told by team insiders that senior staff were called for a meeting at the Honda factory at Brackley, in central England, on Friday (EDT) and informed that Honda in Japan were no longer willing to bankroll the team.
"It is suggested that the team will be put up for sale - and if no buyer is found by March then the manufacturer will simply pull the plug and withdraw from the sport," the site claimed.
"There are suggestions, however, that Honda may be willing to offload the team free of charge to anyone willing to support it - and they could even continue to supply engines for a period of time until another technical partner is found."
Honda finished ninth in the constructors championship this season with 14 points.
Veteran driver Rubens Barrichello achieved the team's best result with a third-place finish at Silverstone.
The speculation over Honda's future came as the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) were meeting in Geneva to discuss ways of reducing the costs of the sport in the face of the current global financial downturn.
Max Mosley, the head of motorsport's world governing body, the FIA, has already asked teams to come up with cost-cutting proposals.
