Jenson Button & Rubens Barrichello
The Honda F1 team could be racing in the 2009 season if rumours prove to be true, after it was revealed last week that a management buyout would take place headed by Ross Brawn, which has allegedly been given approval.
After reports that up to 300 of the Brackley based Honda staff were to lose their jobs, Jensen Button has said to have agreed to a 50% pay-cut for the season as the team battle with a drastically reduced budget.
There is still no firm confirmation on the Honda team although it is believed that the Honda Tokyo board has given the green light. It was suggested that the team may attend the penultimate testing session at Jerez this week, but there was no sight yesterday as the other teams took to the track.
It is thought that an announcement will be forthcoming this week after the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) press conference in Geneva.
The Honda team were also rumoured to have been attending Silverstone later this week before going on to join the other teams in the official test session in Barcelona.
The season gets underway on March 29th in Australia but all the cars need to be in Melbourne a week before the event in preparation for scrutineering on the eve of the first practice. Not much time for the team given that they have not tested the car powered by an alleged Mercedes engine so far this year.
As for the drivers, there is still no word here either apart from Jenson which is still to be confirmed. Bruno Senna or Rubens Barrichello? The young Brazilian rookie, nephew of the great Ayrton, could bring a huge amount of funding to the team but Barrichello has the experience. My money would be on Barrichello, who is not only the most experienced driver in Formula One but would surely be the best bet for an as yet untested car.
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