Super Aguri F1 Team: 2005 - 2008?

For weeks and even months now, Super Aguri F1 Team aka "Super Best Friends" have been struggling to simply survive and keep racing, even if they are backmarkers in every sense of the word and act more as mobile chicanes than competitive F1 race cars. The fact that they even raced in Spain last week was amazing and a testament to their resolve and "the little engine that could" concept.

Sad news is emerging from Istanbul today, site of next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix. Super Aguri's trucks and motorhome are now denied access to the track/paddock at Istanbul. Nick Fry, Honda Racing F1 CEO, has supposedly informed Formula One Management that Super Aguri will not race at Turkey. Honda is still holding Super Aguri's race cars at their headquarters at Brackley until this financial situation is resolved.

Aguri is rumored to own Honda $100 million. Honda wasn't prepare to run and finance two full time F1 teams and time has run out for Aguri. Honda had hoped that Aguri would have found independent backers by now. The Magna Group buyout proposal looked promising but fell apart in the 11th hour when they backed out. Last week, the Weigl Group buyout proposal came to light and has some promise but Fry remained skeptical that the Weigl offer would be approved by Mother Honda.

I was never a big fan of Super Aguri however you can't help but to cheer for the little engine that could. Super Aguri is the ultimate underdog and F1 needs underdogs, as much as top tier teams like Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes and BMW Sauber. I'm surprised by the recent hard line that Honda is taking against Super Aguri. While 2006 seemed like a love feast between the two sister teams, now Honda seems like it wants nothing to do with Aguri and wants to be free of them as soon as possible. Perhaps this is a knee jerk reaction to being shown up last season when Super Aguri outperformed and in the eyes of some, embarrassed, Honda Racing F1?

Nevertheless, this may be the beginning of the end for Super Aguri. I hope Aguri will find a way to save his team.