Super Aguri’s bleak future
Aguri Suzuki (above) has released a statement saying that the “Super Aguri F1 Team confirms that it has been informed by Magma Group, the potential purchasers of the team, that its investors no longer wish to fund the intended acquisition.
“It is with deep regret that Aguri Suzuki is now forced to consider the future of the team, however negotiations with other parties continue.”
As dilemmas that face a Formula 1 team go, this must be about the most energy sapping and depressing. Super Aguri missed pre-season testing and has been roughly 3 or 4 seconds off the pace in the opening rounds of the season.
With investment from Dubai International Capital via the Magma group on the horizon many of their worst worries would have been over. However, the light at the end of the tunnel has turned out to be the oncoming train.
Where do they go from here? Aguri Suzuki is in talks with Honda to see if they can continue supplying parts and funding but in my view, this certainly isn’t going to tie them over for the rest of the season. The longer the team goes without any serious backing, the harder it is going to become to catch up with their ‘rivals’. And the longer that goes on, the less attractive they will be to potential sponsors.
We can see from Force India how quickly a team can improve with the right direction and appropriate amount of backing but can you see this happening with Super Aguri? I certainly can’t at the moment.
On an relatively unrelated note, someone in the office commented that Vijay Mallya looks a lot like Jeff Lynne. Yes, the same Jeff Lynne that did the song Mr Blue Sky. Which none of us can now get out of our heads.
Tags: Force India, Honda, Jeff Lynne, Super Aguri, Vijay Mallya
Ed returned from a stint in Milan, working on the Italian version of Autocar, and joined the team in August 2007. After two years of countless scooter accidents and a constant battle against coffee addiction it was a relief for him to start writing in his mother tongue. As well as managing the website, Ed is responsible for writing the Auctions and Desirables pages, the occasional features article and made his TV debut on CNN at the end of last year commenting on the F1 season.
John Williams:
April 18th, 2008 1:48pm
Well, there’s also Toro Rosso to consider. Can people like Aguri Suzuki really make money from running a ‘back of the grid team’? Or is it just a love of racing that keeps him there? Because as far as I can see the times when a team running 3 or 4 seconds off the pace can actually work their way up the grid, are pretty few and far between…
Michael Ivans:
April 18th, 2008 1:51pm
Doesn’t the saying go: “If you want to make a small fortune in Formula 1; start with a large one..?”
Rob Widdows:
April 19th, 2008 12:24pm
I’m not sure I’m supposed to respond to the blogs as a writer for the magazine.
What the hell. I just want to say that, if Super Aguri does not survive, it will be a terrible blow for Antony Davidson. I reckon he’s a very quick racing driver given the right car.
More generally, it’s remarkable that any of these smaller teams can keep going amidst the problems in the global financial markets and the uncertainty in the western economies.
As RD said the other day, costs have to be kept more tightly under control and the rules have to be stabilised for longer periods of time.
RW
Ed Foster:
April 21st, 2008 9:37am
I quite agree Rob – Anthony Davidson hasn’t had many breaks in his Formula 1 career and is a very quick driver. Sadly, at his age, I don’t think he’ll be snapped up by another team when there are so many hungry 20 year-olds.
EF
Michael Ivans:
April 22nd, 2008 1:35pm
Hungry 20 year-olds who would also probably be cheaper?…