[retired_yesmoncar]

MON LEWIS

[Test 187]

Originally posted by Mika:
More fool Sir Frank if he would be prepared to trust him again.

I know, although I think we would be that desperate if Nico left (especially as the only way he can leave is if we don't perform well this year, seeing as we have a performance related option on him for 2009).

[thetaoofshawn]

Gascoyne threatens to quit over Ralf link

Hasn't he been in teams galore already? or is it just that he's been in the same team but they've changed name every single season?

[retired_kikiiscwazy]

Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Spyker/Midland for sure, can't remember further back. He has gone on record as saying that he won't work for another team after Spyker though.

And if you were doing badly enough for Nico to leave then I'd be surprised if Button wanted to join you Rohan.

[retired_shean]

Am the only one who thinks Ralf going to Force India would be quite funny?

[retired_squidink]

Originally posted by Insanemadman:
Am the only one who thinks Ralf going to Force India would be quite funny?

I'd might cry if Ralf joined Force India tbh

Gascoyne >>>>>>>>>>>&gt ; Ralf

Mon Klien for the second race seat btw :thup:

[retired_burnthefat]

Rubens to retire and get replaced by Alonso, and lead Honda to the Constructors Championship and a 1-2 in the Drivers Championship. Matt to be found rocking back and forth in the witness box at Hull Magistrates Court

[Test 187]

Originally posted by Mika:
Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Spyker/Midland for sure, can't remember further back. He has gone on record as saying that he won't work for another team after Spyker though.

And if you were doing badly enough for Nico to leave then I'd be surprised if Button wanted to join you Rohan.

We could be his only optio tbh. Flav won't want him back, Ferrari and McLaren wouldn't I imagine, which just leaves BMW I guess, and that depends on whether Heidfeld leaves after next season.

Red Bull may be another option, but it's too early to think about 2009 when we don't even know where people'll be driving in 2008

[thetaoofshawn]

Jenson WC \o/ wp Umney

The struggling Honda team are poised to announce a major coup by appointing former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn as their team principal.

The 52-year-old Englishman is to be confirmed in his new role on Monday, BBC Sport has learnt, with Nick Fry continuing as chief executive.

Brawn was the technical mastermind behind Ferrari's unprecedented success in the first half of this decade.

He will be expected to turn Honda from underachievers into a major force.

It is Brawn's first role as team principal, but few inside F1 doubt he will be a success in the position - as long as Honda's management in Japan allow him free reign to run the team.

Brawn joins at the end of the worst season in Honda's modern history.

The team produced one of the most uncompetitive cars on the grid this season, with Jenson Button managing only six points and the veteran former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello failing to score any at all.

That was despite Button giving the team their first win of the modern era in Hungary in 2006.

Brawn joining the team will be a huge reassurance to Button, who said at the weekend he would not tolerate another season of underachievement.

"The car was a complete dog, and I'm just not interested in racing like this any more," Button said.

"I'd love to win the title with Honda but I've got to start winning, and if I don't then I have to be ruthless."

However, Brawn will not be able to turn the team around overnight.

Next year's Honda car has already been designed, and he will be focusing his initial efforts on reorganising the team to ensure it is competitive in 2009.

Nevertheless, it is to be expected that his impact will begin to be felt as the 2008 season progresses.

Brawn is hugely highly rated in F1, where he became synonymous with Michael Schumacher.

The two were together at Benetton in the early 1990s, winning back-to-back world titles in 1994 and 1995, before both moved to Ferrari in 1996.

Their arrival marked a dramatic upturn in the Italian team's fortunes, turning them into world beaters after years in the doldrums.

Schumacher finally ended Ferrari's 21-year run without a drivers' title in 2000, the first of five championships in a row.

Brawn took a sabbatical from F1 following Schumacher's retirement at the end of 2006, and has been in demand by Red Bull and Toyota as well as Honda.

Fry is rumoured to have been chasing Brawn since last spring, but Ferrari had first call on his services.

Brawn began talks with his former team in the summer but he was unable to agree a deal to become their team principal.

Now those negotiations have failed, he has decided to take on a challenge that will be at least the equal of that he undertook at Ferrari - and Honda will hope he is able to have a similar effect on them.

[retired_kikiiscwazy]

To quote Ross himself, it takes three years minimum for someone coming into a team to make a big difference, so I'm not worried yet.