FEBRUARY 28, 2009

Movement in Brackley

The last few days have seen movement going on at Honda Racing F1 with eight mortgages being paid off by the holding company of the team and the registration of various web domains for Brawn Racing, in the name of Caroline McGrory, who happens to be the team's legal counsel.

The last few days have seen movement going on at Honda Racing F1 with eight mortgages being paid off by the holding company of the team and the registration of various web domains for Brawn Racing, in the name of Caroline McGrory, who happens to be the team's legal counsel. The conclusion drawn from all this is that the team will be renamed Brawn Racing - it has not yet been - and that the new team will be launched soon afterwards.

It is anticipated that Ross Brawn will be the front man but that Nick Fry will still be involved and will probably also be a shareholder. At the moment everyone is still staying very quiet on the subject which continues to suggest that all involved are bound by confidentiality agreements.

The driver line-up will probably end up the same as it was in 2008 unless Bruno Senna can bring in enough funding to make it worth while having to deal with a novice in one of the cars - in a season when there is no testing between races.

Barrichello is a better bet.

There have also been suggestions back in the team has managed to land a title sponsorship with the rumours saying that this could be Emirates Airlines. This is possible as Honda Racing F1 was close to a deal with Emirates when Japan announced the intention to quit F1. The price would probably have come down but Emirates is a good partner, particularly if the team continues to champion an environmentally friendly cause. Emirates is keen to promote an environmentally-friendly image with its Emvironment programme.