Brawn: Honda won't rule out signing Alonso

Thursday 3rd July 2008

Honda boss Ross Brawn is refusing to rule Fernando Alonso out of his thinking for 2009 should he fail to secure a move to Ferrari.

Alonso is currently enduring a wretched season on his return to Renault, the team that made him world champion in 2005 and 2006.

The Spaniard has won just 10 points from eight grands prix to leave him languishing in a lowly ninth place in the Championship.

As the suggestion Alonso has an escape clause in his two-year deal with Renault refuses to go away, it would allow him a route out should the team fail to adequately perform.

If the 26-year-old does again become available on the market, he would represent a prized asset for any team, providing they could give him a competitive car.

Honda have hardly pulled up trees this season as Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have again struggled in an off-the-pace car.

But the Japanese manufacturer are confident of turning around their fortunes for next season, and if Alonso is free, Honda would be one of many teams interested, although Ferrari would appreciably be his preferred destination.

"We are fairly happy with our two drivers, but we'll be interested to see what Fernando does," remarked Brawn.

"He's a great driver and a World Champion, and if he chooses not to stay at Renault then I think every team would be interested in what he's going to do. But it's no more than that.

"Over the last five years the two top teams have consistently been Ferrari, and latterly McLaren.

"I don't suppose he's got an invitation to go back to McLaren, so if he wants a top-team berth then I'm sure he's going to be looking very hard at Ferrari.

"I'm not completely clear on the Ferrari situation. Felipe (Massa) has a contract until the end of 2010 and he's doing a very good job so I'd see no reason to change that.

"If Kimi (Raikkonen) doesn't wake one morning and decide to stop, then it doesn't look like it's a situation that is going to change in the short term.

"If he doesn't get in to Ferrari, he's got to pick a horse and back it for the next few years.

"I guess he's got some thinking to do about what he wants to do, but we've not made an approach."

Appreciating his team's stock is not as high as Ferrari or McLaren, Brawn added: "Ours is all promise as we haven't delivered anything yet.

"I think for any top personnel in F1, be it drivers, engineers or whoever, we hope Honda can be a serious consideration in the future.

"People want to work with teams that can compete at the front, and at the moment its primarily McLaren and Ferrari, so if you want to work for a winning team it's a limited choice.

"We hope we can become one of those teams."

Brawn has confirmed he is currently in discussion with Button and Barrichello with regard to next season, with an announcement due later this summer.

He added: "I'm definitely not unhappy if we carry on with the two drivers we have. I think we can do the job with them."

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