Just days after Ferrari announced that they will not be supplying engines to Honda, German manufacturer Mercedes opened the door to the possibility of teaming up with the beleaguered outfit.
Honda are still hopeful they will find a buyer before the start of the season and team boss Ross Brawn admitted earlier this month that he contacted Ferrari about a possible deal for the 2009 season.
However, Scuderia team boss Stefano Domenicali made it clear on Monday that this is not an option for them, saying: “the chance of us supplying engines to Honda is close to zero”.
Mercedes will be providing not only their long-term partner McLaren with engines, they will also be working with the Force-India Team this season.
Honda officials Ross Brawn and Nick Fry have done good work with the team and therefore Mercedes wanted to help the team ensure a start for the new season, Haug said.
“If there is a feasible solution with an investor for that team, we would be prepared to discuss it,” Haug said. “But the financial background needs to be there. You cannot give any presents at this time and in this [financial] climate, but we would like to help for the sake of formula one.”
Haug says while the timing is not ideal, he is confident that supplying at least two teams will not hamper McLaren’s chances of defending the world championship in 2009.
Ferrari, which admits it is struggling with the implementaion of the new KERS system, has already ruled out a potential engine supply deal for the former Honda team.
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