Richards: Honda's exit a lesson for F1

Prodrive boss David Richards believes Honda Racing's fight for survival is a lesson that Formula One must now change if it is to face the future with confidence

Honda announced last Friday that it was pulling the plug on its Formula One efforts, leaving team chiefs Nick Fry and Ross Brawn with just a few weeks to find a buyer to keep the outfit afloat.

And although it is understood Richards is considering an involvement in a deal, he is well aware that the current business model for F1 teams must evolve if teams are going to be allowed to prosper.

Speaking at the Autosport Awards about whether he believed there was the prospect of Brawn and Fry finding a buyer, Richards said: "I certainly hope so.

"It's a great team and a great team of people, but it's a salutary lesson for the whole of F1 that things are going to have to change, and everything is going to have to come back a little bit if the whole sport is to prosper in the future - which I am sure it will do."

Sources suggest that Richards has been approached by two different consortiums - believed to be from the Middle East - asking him if he would be interested in running a team funded by them.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, however, Richards admitted that the current financial climate and changes that F1 are about to make, means it is far from certain he will decide to get involved.

"I'm keeping an open mind," he said. "You could say that the facilities Honda have make it an attractive proposition but I disagree. The overheads are not what would be needed in an age when Formula One is cutting costs. I won't rush into anything."