Aguri Suzuki on Tuesday refused to rule out working in formula one again, but he suggested he would be reluctant to relive the fading months of his team Super Aguri.
“I’m exhausted. I definitely need a break,” he told a press conference in Japan, where it was revealed that he has closed down the Leafield based outfit due to a “financial crisis”.
Suzuki, a former podium getter during his own racing career, did not elaborate on the details of the collapse, including backer Honda’s apparent decision to quarantine the team’s cars in the UK and restrict Super Aguri’s access to the Istanbul circuit this week.
The Japanese did, however, refer to the F1 world as a “piranha club and I kind of feel that I don’t want to stick my fingers back in”.
“If I could just focus on racing I would think about it,” Suzuki said, when asked if he would ever contemplate attempting another team foray.
“The racing part I enjoyed, but lately all the discussions were about money and that’s not for me.”
Honda, believed to be owed around $100m following more than two years of parental support for Super Aguri, called the collapse “inevitable”.
“We understand that it was inevitable unless the team could find a way to stand alone by itself in the future,” the manufacturer said in a portion of a statement provided to us.
Aguri Suzuki said he has no regrets about forming the private team ahead of the 2006 season, and described team ownership as a “dream”.
But he also had a warning for his would-be successors, and totally ruled out an eleventh-hour rescue after the team skips Sunday’s Turkish grand prix.
“There is no possibility (of that),” Suzuki said.
“If someone wants to take part in F1, I’m going to advise them that he better not.”
