Honda buys 45% stake in BAR.

[Kirk]

Lots of spotty reports on this. Here is the least vague of what I have read to date:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns13866.html

[f1manoz]

Absolutely no surprise if this move comes about. Honda wanted to enter a few years back but didn't. Buying BAR would be perfect - an established team that Honda don't really have to tinker with.

Losing Richards? I don't know why, he's done a good job for the team thus far.

[Utopian]

No financial details were released but Ford were reported to have asked for a symbolic $1 if the new owners guaranteed to invest $400m into the team over the next three Grand Prix seasons.

Off topic, but just to answer my earlier posed question earlier!

[neilap]

Originally posted by Utopian
Off topic...

Yes it is



I seriously hope Honda putting more of an investment in the team does not have any detrimental effects. After all now they have an even bigger incentive to succeed... its their money. The smart thing to do would be to keep the team they have currently for the sake of continuity.

IMO, winning JB is probably the worst thing to happen to them. As it stands he will leave at the end of next season and the team will have to seek someone new just when they should be at their strongest.

[Glen]

Originally posted by neilap
IMO, winning JB is probably the worst thing to happen to them. As it stands he will leave at the end of next season and the team will have to seek someone new just when they should be at their strongest.

Huh? What about THIS coming year? They absolutely must live in the now beforeanything else. F1 doesn't fund itself - they need points and achievements, and JB has proved quite categorically that he can deliver. I think 2005 will be a big challenge for BAR - they need to hold their nerve and not start thinking that second place is where they naturally will end up. McLaren and Williams were both uncharacteristically off-the-boil in 2004 - that will not continue. Fighting with Renault is more the territory that they can expect to occupy, assuming that McLaren and Williams recover themselves. BAR need to consolidate, and can ill afford to take a second choice on driver just because they think that driver might walk the following year - any driver might walk if he gets a good offer, Sato included.

[Adam43]

It looks like this is just about to become reality, or at least in part...

[Super Tourer]

http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=69716

BAR will enter an exciting new phase of its development with the announcement today that Honda will further increase its commitment to the team by becoming an equity partner for the first time


Under the new agreement, British American Tobacco will own 55 per cent and Honda Motor Co., Ltd., 45 per cent of a new joint venture company which is planned to replace the existing BAR ownership structure.


Parallel with this announcement is agreement between British American Tobacco and Prodrive to conclude the consultancy contract that has paved the way for this new chapter in BAR Honda's future

So, Prodrive step back from the management of the team.

[Sodemo]

Pity, I really like Dave Richards.

Maybe its time for Prodrive to enter F1 themselves?

[N I Tram]

So this would mean David Richards gone, and Pollock and JV selling the last of their shares? I would've thought BAR would be keen to keep the man who turned the team around so impressively. Honda need to show that they can do the whole job themselves.

[Kirk]

Originally posted by N I Tram
I would've thought BAR would be keen to keep the man who turned the team around so impressively.

They are. Willis is still there.

[Kicking-back]

I hope Richards turns up elsewhere in F1.

Maybe a Jordan-Prodrive partnership would bear fruit.

[Logrence]

I think perhaps Richards would be better off taking a break for a few years and focusing back on rallying - after a few years who knows what kind of opportunities might come up?

[Phoenix1]

The first thing that came into my mind way not the obvious lose for BAR of David Richards but the post Honda/Toyota wars of Champ Car and the current cost problems in IRL. This news is almost certain to mean that they will work more on F1 than IRL and their joint money will force up costs once again. The last thing I want to see is a Honda/Toyota was on this scale.

A thought occured that maybe Honda will supply a customer engine to a team for more data as Toyota sell their engines to Jordan. The danger here is the expansion and reliabilty of these two giants who spend big and leave series to go bust. I hope the FIA keep an eye on this, any manufacter pull out hurts but I do not want to be here in 3 to 5 years time wondering why no one learnt from the American series mistakes.

Having said that it would be good to have Toyota, Honda, BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes and maybe Cosworth fighting to be top dog week on week.

[keithsekree]

F1 always seems to do a good job of getting rid of charismatic people who do well. Its a funny game.

[Dutton]

Pheonix, it is indeed a difficult siutation. The thing is that F1 is a rather impressive capitalist playground, where people can either bully or be bullied.

It is the fundamental nature of the sport that means any lessons that may possibly be learned almost certainly will not.

[DavidStHubbins]

This will be the second time Richards has been nerfed out of F1!

My own personal experience of the guy is that he is a git but he has presided over a sharp up-turn in the fortune of BAR so who knows what's going on?

[Super Tourer]

I think Honda want to put across the message that it is 'their' show and one way of doing that is to replace the Prodrive 'management'.

Whether it is the right thing to do only time will tell, generally speaking huge corporations are often not reactive or flexible enough to manage such a time sensitive project.

[DavidStHubbins]

Honda shot themselves in the foot in MotoGP so let us see how this works out. I personally hope they lose and Toyota use them as toilet roll.

That would be good.

[Super Tourer]

Toyota have not exactly set a text book example of running an F1 team as yet, 2005 will surely be more crucial to them than Honda?

[DavidStHubbins]

They have not been as bad as BAR were! Agreed though that BAR will be ahead of Toyota for a while yet.

[BootsOntheSide]

BAR have always been a much mroe organised and well-presented team than Toyota. If Toyota had entered immediately rather than spendinga year testing, their resutls would've been just as bad as BAR's - and Pollock/Richards/Honda have always had less money to work with than Toyota.

[Kirk]

DR on Button in 2006:
" However, Richards went on to suggest that he thought BAR stood a better chance of hanging on to Button now Honda had upped their commitment to the team. "

.... or more like, now that he is out. DR, as usual, painting the picture to make himself look good, also claims his departure to be a mutual decision. OK.

[Adam43]

DR is quite happy about the situation. he is a very succesful man who has achieved much and will continue to achieve.

Why is DR happy? Well he has just revealed a new Aston racer, he can get his teeth into Rallying and all his other projects. However I guesss the main reason is that, in regard to F1, he will be paid loads to do not a lot next year! He put himself in this position by taking a F1 team and turning it round in just over a year. how did he do this? Well he chose the best people, got the best out of people and worked hard at it. Just like at Subaru, which runs quite well without his day-to-day involvement. Give the guy some credit.

[Dutton]

Well said.

[f1manoz]

IMO Richards isn't done with Formula One just yet. I think he'll turn up at another team...