As reported earlier the assets of now defunct Super Aguri F1 team will be sold in auction later this month. The items for sale are to include Formula 1 car, transporters and tractor units, vehicles, race & test equipment, plant & machinery and merchandise (including clothing, luggage and personal accessories).

It has also been reported that Adrian Campos may be interested in buying what’s left of Super Aguri. This follows the earlier rumours about Campos and Agag buying into Super Aguri while the team was still (barely) alive and kicking. Campos’ interest in Super Aguri bits and pieces renewed some speculations that he may be planning Formula 1 entry. But if that would be the case, why wait till the team disappears and not buy into it while all the structure is in place and team is part of Formula 1 ?

Yes, it is possible that the still useful assets like transporters and factory equipment may now be available for bargain prices. But the team is no longer in Formula 1, people are gone and with all the changes coming to effect from 2009 season the Super Aguri Formula 1 car has now become only a collector piece.

Will the Super Aguri auction kickstart a new Formula 1 team project ? Very very unlikely …

Photo: Super Aguri

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I believe that by now Max Mosley is not the only person with serious doubts about the future of the smallest team on the Formula 1 grid. These are the latest words of Aguri Suzuki, the team owner:

“Super Aguri will not take part in testing in Barcelona this week because of elements out of our control. We plan however to particpate in tests from next week on the Catalunya circuit with two cars.”

It has been only a week ago that Super Aguri postponed their car launch planned for today. However team boss Aguri Suzuki and technical director Mark Preston were to be at the circuit to answer media questions. This is apparently not going to happen today…

There was a bit of good news last week for the team when they finally made it to the test track, although with one car only. Both Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson felt confident they would secure their race seat cotract with the team. Moreover Sato sounded quite sure the team will weather their current financial troubles. That feel good mood did not last for long …

There has been a lot of Superi Aguri rumours in the news - the rumours of team sale to Alejandro Agag, the plans from Indian consortium Spice Group to invest (or purchase the team) and place Narain Karthikeyan into the cockpit. Most recently Russian investment was mentioned in connection with Super Aguri. Nothing however have worked out yet and does not look like it is going to anytime soon …

The time is running out for Super Aguri and if no new money comes buy soon, the team’s future will solely depend on the mercy from Honda, Nick Fry late in January:

The intent for 2008 is that Aguri will be on the grid but clearly what Ross (Brawn) and I need to do, and are doing, is ensure that doesn’t detract from our primary job. At this stage, the intent is that they will be on the grid with Honda engines and support. Exactly how much of that support comes from here is being worked on at the moment.

The last thing the troubled Honda team now needs is a distraction and diversion of resources towards Super Aguri. I am afraid that unless there is some development benefit (more test mileage) from having baby B team on the grid, Honda may want to pull the plug on Super Aguri sooner than later. They do not need 2 teams at the back of the grid …

Let’s see how this develops further. The plans (to show up at the next test and run 2 cars) are just the plans, as was the car launch, as was the appearance of Suzuki and Preston for the media. Once the “elements out of our control” enter the picture, the future is rarely bright and rarely orange. Arrows could talk …

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With Prodrive expected to enter the F1 from coming season, it looked that finally F1 can have a full grid of 12 teams and 24 cars. The last time F1 was close to having 12 teams was in 2002, the year when Toyota entered. However Prost went out of business during the winter and Arrows cars were last seen in Germany 2002. With 5 races to go in 2002, the grid that promised to have 24 cars has shrunk to 20.

Now Max Mosley is not convinced there will still be 11 teams in Formula 1 by the end of the 2008 season. When asked whether Super Aguri will appear on the start of Australian GP in Melbourne in little over 6 weeks, he said:

“I wouldn’t like to stake my life on that. I think so, but you can’t be certain.”

But when asked if he is confident that all eleven teams will contest the entire 2008 F1 championship, he allegedly said to PA Sport:

“Not very.”

The team in question is no doubt Super Aguri.
Read the rest of this entry »

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The German magazine AutoBild reports that Aguri Suzuki has sold 50% stake in the Super Aguri F1 team to Spanish billionaire Alejandro Agag. The GP2 team owner Agag has been linked with purchase of Super Aguri shares for quite some time.

Super Aguri run into financial difficulties after their sponsor SS United defaulted on the sponsorship payments during the 2007 season. They managed to secure few smaller sponsors before the 2007 Japanese GP at Fuji but still had to rely on massive support from Honda to keep on going.

The entry of Alejandro Agag into the Super Aguri would definitelly be good news for the Japanese team. Whether it is also good news for Super Aguri drivers Sato and Davidson is a different story. Sato is probably safe but not so Anthony Davidson. Super Aguri repeatedly stated they would prefer both their 2007 drivers to continue, but haven’t confirmed them yet mainly because of the uncertainties about team’s future. Now when Agag may be on board I would not be surprised if his own favourite (whoever it may be) enters the picture.

What puzzles me a bit is that why would a deal like this be done before the customer car arbitration is over and the issue what cars can and can’t race in 2008 is settled. Fifty percent stake in F1 team does not come cheap. Why would someone splash out the cash before knowing if the team actualy has a legitimate car to race with ? Or do Agag and Suzuki already know something we don’t ?

Update: Audetto, Managing Director of Super Aguri has denied the sale report:

“We have had no recent dialogue or an ongoing relationship with Agag.”

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