Grapevine: Suzuki remains silent on team future

Suzuki flew to Japan at the end of last month for talks with Honda chiefs to try and shore up his team's financial situation - which had been badly hurt by the non-payment of sponsors last year.

The team had hoped that a deal could be sorted out swiftly, but in the end the discussions stalled as Suzuki and Honda could not agree on a way forward for the outfit.

There is renewed speculation that a deal could be close but, with the team still preparing as normal for the Australian Grand Prix, there is no firm news on team's long-term security.

Suzuki himself, who has remained in Japan trying to sort out the situation, has refused to divulge any details, and whether rumours of investors are true.

"We have got nothing new to say," he said when asked about the latest developments at his team.

High level sources have told autosport.com that there have been two separate investment deals on the table - although neither have unanimous support from both Suzuki and Honda.

It is understood that British consultancy firm Magma Group, which is led by former Ford of Europe boss Martin Leach, was ready to table a deal for a takeover in equity in the team. Sources suggest the company and its partners travelled to Japan to put forward their proposal, but the idea was rejected by Suzuki.

Following that development, it is understood that Suzuki offered an alternative Japanese investor to Honda chiefs, but the Japanese manufacturer was not keen on that solution.

It is not known whether, in the light of a continued failure to find an alternative deal, whether either of these packages are now back on the table.

Suzuki are expected to start the season with an updated version of last year's Honda Racing RA108, with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson set to be retained.