Odds favour Super Aguri, says Fry

Honda have agreed to provide engines to the Japanese team, whose bid to enter the 2006 Championship was turned down by the governing FIA this month when a mandatory $48 million bond apparently failed to be paid on time.

Super Aguri have vowed to re-apply, a move that requires the unanimous agreement of all the other teams before the newcomers can be admitted.

"They've got a lot of work to do but they are progressing well from what we can see and I think there is a better than evens chance they will be on the grid," said Fry.

"There are three months to go and all 10 teams have got to sign up (to allow them to compete) so there is a bit of an issue there and I don't know where they are on that," he added. "But in terms of physically being able to be on the grid, they've got a reasonable chance.

"From what I understand they are determined to be in Formula One and they've got the difficult bit which is the engine. I don't think they'll give up," said Fry.

Davidson Role

Fry hoped Briton Anthony Davidson would stay as Honda's test and reserve driver rather than be tempted by any offer of a race seat from the team led by former Japanese racer Aguri Suzuki.

Davidson and Japan's Takuma Sato are seen as Super Aguri's likely line-up. Sato lost his drive with BAR, the team Honda bought and renamed, at the end of the season.

Fry suggested it might be better for Davidson to spend a year as back-up to compatriot Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

"We are hoping that he's going to be our third driver," he said. "I think that a combination of Jenson, Rubens and Anthony will be absolutely top line," he said.

"Clearly we've got a moral and legal obligation to allow Anthony to race if someone else offers him a race drive.

"But we're hoping very much he stays with us because he'll have a great year and learn a lot from Jenson and Rubens and they'll be a great team," added Fry.

"If he's given the opportunity the following year, once Aguri has had the chance to get up to speed, then I think that will be great for him."

Fry ruled out Super Aguri using BAR's 2005 specification car: "They are an independent team and they will have their own chassis and it won't be a BAR chassis," he said.

Instead, Super Aguri are likely to run a Honda V8-powered derivative of a car raced by now-defunct Arrows in 2002 and purchased from former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart.