As the Japanese squad’s crisis deepened in Malaysia, Honda could be about to launch a multi-million dollar bid to sign Ferrari’s former technical director Ross Brawn.
British newspapers including the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail report that Brawn, currently on a ‘sabbatical’ but not under any contractual obligations to Ferrari, is the target of beleaguered Honda’s team principal Nick Fry.
“Brawn … is the man Fry has identified to harness the vast resources available to the Japanese manufacturer,” the Telegraph wrote.
Jenson Button finished a lap down and twelfth at Sepang on Sunday, and revealed afterwards to the Daily Mail that Honda personnel have resorted to “shouting at each other” in frustration about the RA107’s dismal lack of pace.
“I’ve hit rock bottom,” he said, as the British media who once hailed him as a future champion now turn their hype to McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton, who finished second in Malaysia.
Button said: “We’ve been shouting at each other in frustration but there’s no point in doing that now.”
The Telegraph revealed that Fry, arguing that 52-year-old Brawn’s experience could be the missing link at the Brackley based team, has already held “high-level talks in Japan” about bidding for the Briton.
It is understood that Brawn is currently on a fishing trip in New Zealand.
