Honda set to announce F1 withdrawal

Honda is expected to make the bombshell announcement on Friday morning that it is pulling out of Formula 1.

Sources close to itv.com/f1 understand that the Brackley-based squad will be put up for sale with immediate effect and that if no buyer is found by March then the team will be closed.

While no official announcement on the future of Honda’s F1 programme has yet been made by the Japanese manufacturer and the team’s press officers were unavailable for comment, it is understood the squad's workforce was addressed by team principal Ross Brawn on Thursday evening to explain the situation.

Confirmation of its F1 exit plans is expected to be made by Honda on Friday morning in Japan.

The car giant’s expected F1 exit will throw the immediate futures of its near 700-strong workforce, including British driver Jenson Button and former Ferrari mastermind Brawn, into doubt should Honda fail to find a new owner for the team it took full control of in September 2005.

While Button had not yet been officially reconfirmed for 2009, it is understood the 28-year-old had signed an extended deal and the team was holding off from an announcement until it had decided on Button’s team-mate for next year.

Current incumbent Rubens Barrichello had been waiting to find out whether or not the team would replace him with either Bruno Senna or Lucas di Grassi following recent test evaluations.

All four could now struggle to find a seat on the 2009 grid if no new owner for the team is found as Toro Rosso is the only other team officially with seats still open for next year.

Honda’s expected withdrawal appears to confirm the manufacturer squad is the first Formula 1 victim of the global financial downturn, while other outfits have also been mooted as possibly having financial concerns.

The Japanese firm recently cut its road car production in both Japan and Europe, including a 50-day shutdown at its Swindon plant early next year, and its US sales last month fell 32%.

Speculation in recent days suggested it was now turning its cost-cutting attention to its F1 project, although a complete exit from the sport was not an anticipated move.

While it is expected Honda will put the team up for sale for three months, the current worldwide financial problems may make it difficult to find a new investor.

The expected announcement will come just a day after the Formula One Teams' Association met to discuss the proposals it would present to the FIA in order to make dramatic cost cuts in the sport. 

Max Mosley, the governing body's president, has asked for radical proposals in order to head off a potential financial crisis in the sport, with Mosley arguing that the current global economic downturn threatens F1's existence if current spending levels are not slashed.

Should the Brackely squad fold in the next three months then Formula 1 will be left with a grid of just nine teams.

The sport was already two teams down on capacity following the demise of Honda-backed Super Aguri in April and Prodrive's decision to not take up its spot due to the confusion over the legality of customer cars.