Petrobras leaves the Honda ship and F1!

Honda Racing has just lost one of its main sponsors with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. Indeed, the latter has just confirmed that it does not wish to be part of the team’s rescue plan.

As negotiations continue in an attempt to secure a future for the Japanese team, Petrobras, one of the main sponsors, has decided to end all sponsorship with Bruno Senna, the team’s future driver after the takeover.

The company therefore does not plan to support Senna but also announced that it does not wish to give 10 million dollars, or nearly 8 million euros, to Honda.

Petrobras announced that it is permanently leaving F1 because it is only interested in the technical challenges offered by the sport.

Claudio Thompson, director of sponsorships, stated: « Petrobras’ presence in Formula 1 has been a way to continue its technological development. We needed to work closely with a manufacturer. »

« Once Honda announced it was withdrawing from the sport, we decided to do the same because we would not be the fuel supplier for the new team in 2009. We are not only interested in a commercial sponsorship but also in the opportunity to use and develop our products. »

« The company has not entered into a contract with Honda. Petrobras also reminds that, according to the terms of its sponsorship program, the company does not sponsor drivers individually, » he continued.

Although there has been no official statement from Honda since the end of last year, Nick Fry and Ross Brawn’s handling of the takeover does not provide a solution to the problem.

Petrobras entered F1 in July 1998 with Williams.