The Telmex racing team owned by Carlos Slim has denied reports the Mexican billionaire will buy Honda’s flailing Formula One outfit.
The Telmex team said in a statement that Slim “has not bought, nor is negotiating to buy, the Honda Formula 1 team, and thus all reports in that sense are baseless and completely false.”
Honda, with an annual racing budget of around 400 million dollars, pulled out of the Formula One world championship earlier this month and was put up for sale with the Japanese manufacturer struggling in the current global economic slowdown.
Earlier Sunday, Slim’s son had told that reports of a deal to save Honda were also without foundation.
On Saturday, Italian newspaper La Stampa claimed that Slim, who they described as the world’s second richest man, was poised to buy the Honda team.
“The saviour has arrived at the last minute: Carlos Slim, 67 years old, the second richest man in the world,” said the newspaper.
“The news is not official as all the details have yet to be formalised. But two things are certain - the team has been saved and the drivers will be Jenson Button and rookie Bruno Senna in place of Rubens Barrichello.”
La Stampa, which did not identify the source of its story, added that Senna, the nephew of former triple world champion Ayrton Senna, is sponsored by Embratel, part of Slim’s Telmex group.
Read more on this:
Honda Withdraws From Formula One
Honda’s F1 Departure Could Shock Global Motorsport
Honda Races Against Time To Find A Buyer For Formula 1 Team Ahead Of 2009 Season
Honda Will Still Compete In Superbike
F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone Called Honda’s Exit A “Wake-Up Call” For The Sport
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