David Richards eyes axed Honda F1 team

Dec.6 (GMM) David Richards is believed to be perhaps the most serious of the prospective buyers of Honda's formula one team.

As alluded to by Honda figures as well as F1 powerbrokers Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, there is already interest in the Brackley based team, which on Friday was put on the market by the struggling Japanese carmaker Honda.

To boost the chances of a sale, embarrassed Honda has offered to bear the team's outstanding debts, and offer for sale the excellent facilities of the Brackley based squad for a nominal fee as low as $1.

The successful buyer would have to convince Honda that it could safeguard the future of the team, even if many of the 700 employees would be retrenched as the annual budget is slashed from its current $300 million to as little as $70m.

The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph said the most serious buyer, believed to be the Prodrive chief David Richards, could be in a position to seal the deal by the end of this weekend.

56-year-old Richards is no stranger to the team, having been brought in to run its previous BAR incarnation in 2001.

Prodrive was slated to join the F1 grid in 2008, but Richards pulled out because his plans involved running a controversial McLaren-Mercedes customer package.