É Oficial: equipe Honda F1 anuncia sua saída do circo!

Hoje é um dia em que a F1 sofre uma grande perda. A equipe Honda F1 está se retirando do circo, através de um anúncio feito pelo CEO da Honda Motor Company, Takeo Fukui. Já na temporada de 2009 não existirá a equipe da Honda. O CEO comentou que a decisão foi tomada como resultado das condições complicadas em que se encontra o setor automotivo.

A Honda não tinha passado por uma queda tão grande nas vendas nos EUA como passou no mês passado, de mais de 30%. E isso é para citar os EUA apenas como um exemplo, pois a situação está igual em vários outros países.

A montadora japonesa não vai nem mesmo continuar como fornecedora de motores. Foi arranjado que aqueles que compraram motores da Honda recebam motores da Ferrari no lugar.

E foi bom que a equipe Force India mudou de motores Ferrari para Mercedes, deixando assim a Ferrari com capacidade de fornecer motores para mais uma equipe.

Veja abaixo o press-release lançado pela equipe:

We, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season of participation.

This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the sub-prime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies.

Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economies around the globe continue to mount. A recovery is expected to take some time.

Under these circumstances, Honda has taken swift and flexible measures to counter this sudden and expansive weakening of the marketplace in all business areas. However, in recognition of the need to optimize the allocation of management resources, including investment regarding the future, we have decided to withdraw from Formula One participation. We will enter into consultation with the associates of Honda Racing F1 Team and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale.

In its third era of Formula One activities, Honda has been participating in Formula One races from the 2000 season, initially with BAR, by adopting a new format of jointly developing racing machines. Subsequently, in a move to meet the changing environment surrounding Formula One, we switched to running a 100% Honda-owned team commencing with the 2006 season.

Surmounting many challenges, the Honda Team achieved a Grand Prix victory in 2006, enabling Honda to receive overwhelming support from Honda fans around the world that were looking forward to greater success. It, therefore, has been an extremely difficult decision for us to come to this conclusion without having been able to fully meet the expectations of our fans.

By making the best of what we have learned during these times of economic turmoil, coupled with the spirit of challenge gained through active participation in racing, we intend to continue with our commitment in meeting new challenges.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our fans and all those who have supported Honda’s Formula One efforts, including everyone in the world of Formula One.

Thank you very much.

Takeo Fukui
President and CEO
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

[Fonte: Honda]