[F1] Silly Season Thread.

Honda buy 45% of BAR

Honda has agreed to buy a 45 percent holding in the BAR Formula One team, the revelations of the 2004 season. Honda, the team's engine maker, agreed to buy the majority of the stake from British American Tobacco, the team's founders said on Friday. No financial details were available.

BAT, which will be left with 55 percent, and Honda have made an offer to buy three small shareholders' 10 percent stake and are waiting for their response.

Sources said that if the shareholders refused to sell, an application will be sought to put the team into financial administration - a form of creditor protection - as a mechanism to clear up the acquisition.

The sources said team boss David Richards will leave BAR one year before the end of his contract and will be replaced by managing director Nick Fry, who becomes chief executive.

BAR was formed in 1997 by Craig Pollock, Reynard Racing Cars and majority shareholders British American Tobacco, making their Formula One debut in 1999.

Pollock is one of the three minority shareholders targeted by BAT and Honda. The others are Reynard and Rick Gorne.

Honda came on board in 2000, the Japanese carmaker stepping up its involvement in the team two years later with a new agreement that included chassis development. In 2003, Honda became an official sponsor of the team as well and this year when their partnership with BAR was extended until at least the end of 2007.

seems like one day BAR will be simply known as team HONDA :)

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Originally Posted by LatinoHatchCrap

seems like one day BAR will be simply known as team HONDA :)

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If that happens Minardi will finally beat someone! :p

dont no if this has been posted already, Motor magazine reported that Lamborghini could be joining Formula 1, as there own team or just supply engines, anyone with the mag its on the side of the report on the Murceleigo GT thing, looks nice BTW!, would be nice havin them into the sport!

should give ferrari a run for their money if lambo signs up :D

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Toyota Vice President Akihiko Saito, who is responsible for the company's motorsport activities, admitted to Daily Yomiuri on- line during a promotional event at Suzuka: "F1 has been harder than we expected. But that just means that it's a challenge worthy of our attention. However, we can't afford to keep going without getting better results. We have simply invested too much money in the project."

"Next year I demand a podium finish," added a determined Saito.

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I smell a toyota pull-out in 2006 :)

...thanks to www.f1live.com for the article...

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Toyota want a podium finish in '05
An ambitious target for the Japanese team
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It is no secret that Toyota didn't perform to expectations in 2004. The Japanese team - despite having one of the most impressive budget in F1 - scored only nine points in eighteen races.

The TF104 (replaced by the TF104B later in the season) lacked overall pace, leaving Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta to struggle for positive results.

The team desperately wanted to improve the situation after scoring only a handful of points; Panis and Da Matta were replaced before the end of the season and Jarno Trulli joined the team for the final two Grands Prix of the year. The former Renault driver showed promising pace in qualifying but didn't score any point at Suzuka and Interlagos.

The Italian will return to Toyota in 2005 and will have Ralf Schumacher as a team-mate next season. Toyota are also counting on Mike Gascoyne to improve the performance level of the car. The Technical Director Chassis is supervising the development of the upcoming TF105, his first all-new project at Toyota since joining the team in December 2003.

Toyota Vice President Akihiko Saito, who is responsible for the company's motorsport activities, admitted to Daily Yomiuri on- line during a promotional event at Suzuka: "F1 has been harder than we expected. But that just means that it's a challenge worthy of our attention. However, we can't afford to keep going without getting better results. We have simply invested too much money in the project."

"Next year I demand a podium finish," added a determined Saito.

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Edit:Article added for lazy people - LUD02C

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Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher has donated 10 million dollars to the victims of last week's Asian tsunamis, his manager Willi Weber said during a German telethon on Tuesday.

"The dawning of the New Year has not been as joyful for us this year because of the catastrophe in Asia. We sympathise with the victims in their grief," Schumacher said.

The death toll from the massive December 26 earthquake and resulting tidal waves around the Indian Ocean neared 146,000 Tuesday.

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wow thats like 1/3 of what our government donated :| go schumi

This is why Schumacher is a GOD!
This just proves that there are still good people making lots of money!
Unlike most idiots (rappers and basketballers etc)

good to see schumacher doing what he can in such tragic circumstances...

george w. bush still hasnt donated a CENT from his own fortunes...

I don't wanna get to off topic but if Bush has sent 4 Oil Companies bankrupt and a major league baseball team i think he should keep all the money he can :p

Williams still haven't made a decision?

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Pizzonia was in - Then Heidfeld tested...
Williams no closer to driver decision
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There is still no decision at BMW Williams as to who will partner Mark Webber in the race team this year. Speaking yesterday as part of the RBS sponsorship announcement, Frank Williams admitted that Antonio Pizzonia essentially had the job until they tested Nick Heidfeld. The German driver proved rapid from the outset and no the team will wait until the end of the month before making a decision.

"We were very comfortable with having Antonio for 2005 but we felt it would be sensible to look at a rival in case there was someone better out there," Reuters report Williams as saying. "If Nick had not been so obvious to us then Antonio would have been confirmed already, we think he's that good."

"We've decided that to be fair to the team and also to the two drivers to give them more time to demonstrate their abilities," said Williams. "We'd like to have a decision certainly at the latest by the launch of the new car at the end of this month in Valencia."

Williams has also admitted that Mark Webber's dislike of former Jaguar team-mate Pizzonia will play a small part in the decision making process while BMW are firmly in the Nick Heidfeld camp. Both Pizzonia and Heidfeld will remain with the team regardless of the final decision with one or the other taking the race seat and the other the test seat.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

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Major new sponsor for Williams
RBS joins the Grove-based team
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The BMW WilliamsF1 Team today confirmed that the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), currently the world’s 6th largest bank, will join the team as a major sponsor in a multi-year deal.

Commenting on the new investment, Howard Moody, Group Director of Communications for RBS, said, “This represents an important next stage in our advertising and sponsorship program which is designed to grow the Group’s brand presence internationally. The RBS Group has now reached a scale in both size and international reach where a step change in our profile was required to ensure that our brand recognition keeps pace with the reality of where our business is.

“There is no silver bullet to deliver such recognition, we already invest in TV and print advertising in the US, airport branding and a variety of prestige sport sponsorships. The logical next step was to find a property that gave us a truly global reach in a quality format. Formula One was assessed against a number of other international brand-building options. Its reach through TV audiences presented the best investment for building the RBS brand in terms of round the year TV airtime value, offering approximately three times the size of the Superbowl TV audience - every fortnight. In the BMW WilliamsF1 Team we have outstanding partners. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team have a great track record of innovation and performance, and we look forward to working with them during the 2005 season.”

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team Principal, Frank Williams said, “We are delighted to have attracted an organisation of the calibre of RBS to join us as major sponsor for the 2005 season and beyond. They join an impressive list of leading global brands who have also recognised the commercial value of investing in Formula One to build awareness. We are very much looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

Press release
BMW WilliamsF1 Team

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Also, Red Bull have signed both Klein and Vituzzi (sp) as drivers/test drivers next year with David.

dont mean to go off topic again lol, but schumacher donated the $10million one of his body guards and the body guards two sons died in it