FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[bud]

Announcing that his team is withdrawing from F1 with immediate effect, Super Aguri boss Aguri Suzuki took the opportunity to take a swipe at Nick Fry, Chief Executive of the Honda F1 team.

"I don't understand how suddenly Nick Fry needs to be commenting on everything," said Suzuki, according to Reuters. "Honda were our backers and he's not the CEO of Honda. I have no interest in Nick Fry whatsoever and have no idea what he was talking about."

Since the recruitment of Ross Brawn as Team Principal, which followed a season in which the Honda F1 team - under Fry's guidance - finished eighth in the Constructor's Championship, narrowly beating Super Aguri, little has been heard of the Englishman with regards the Honda team, though he still pops up from time to time to share his opinion on other matters.

In recent days he has been highly sceptical of the move to save Super Aguri, something which clearly isn't lost on Suzuki.

As fans mourn the loss of the "little team with the big heart", it is interesting to ponder the difference between what Honda has achieved, especially during the time in which Super Aguri has been in existence.

To many, there appears to be a lot more motivation behind Super Aguri than Honda and certainly loads more passion.

Super Aguri's only crime is not having being able to attract money. Yet how much has Honda attracted? By the look of its livery - and the EarthDreams b******s hasn't fooled anyone for a moment - nothing.

Looking back on the couple of seasons, who spent (and wasted) more of Honda's money?

After all, let's not forget, until Jenson Button scored those four points in China - the penultimate race of the season - Super Aguri was leading the Brackley outfit in the Constructors' Championship, Honda's highlight of the season (at that stage) having been the fact that they played host to the Beckhams at Silverstone. And even then, David and Victoria appeared more interested in Lewis Hamilton.

[EwanM]

Take that Nick Fry!

Problems here we come...
mind you we can now get cheap super aguri merchandise.... though I don't think many would want that...

[8-ball]

nick fry is sticking his nose where it shouldn't be. He should just keep quiet because if he doesn't he will become the scapegoat when the japanese fans look for someone to blame

[EwanM]

nick fry is sticking his nose where it shouldn't be. He should just keep quiet because if he doesn't he will become the scapegoat when the japanese fans look for someone to blame

They're gonna b soooo pisssssssed...

[Hanwombat]

Good for him, Nick Fry should just but.out.

[al4x]

may cost honda a bit in support, sa were alot of peoples 2nd team

[Denthúl]

may cost honda a bit in support, sa were alot of peoples 2nd team

I said it would if they did, and I'm rather annoyed with the team now. Super Aguri were a great team who, despite not having the money or resources or technology of the bigger teams, managed to pull off some impressive performances.

[EwanM]

Yeah, SUPER AGURI
really did lay the Smackdown on the works Honda team last year, even if it didn't end up that way on points.

[Rivelution]

"Little team with big Heart" that is so true. I'm really sad to see Super Aguri leave, I hope this doesnt happen to any other Formula 1 teams.

[Lem]

Gutted to see Aguri and his team go. What a brilliant character in a formula one world of robots.

Always found Fry a bit of a smarmy tosser.

[darwin dali]

mind you we can now get cheap super aguri merchandise.... though I don't think many would want that...

Hm, Super Best Friends' merchandise might quickly turn into collector's items, ya know? Maybe a business opportunity?

[Forti_Corse]

it kind of chokes me up now that SA has left, the team really did try its hardest with the little it had to work on, they probably used whatever they had beyond their means. with the determination of the SA crew combined with the money and smarts of honda theyd be unstoppable.

to be honest i never liked this team but i can still achnowledge the hardship

[McLaren Fan]

Nick Fry is an arse hole. Although he was probably right in saying that Super Aguri needed to be more independent, Fry was gallivanting around like he was the big cheese. Besides, who is this fool to be shouting about how to run a Formula One team. Honda are arguably the biggest disaster ever to hit Formula One.

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Fry denies involvement in Aguri collapse

By Jonathan Noble Friday, May 9th 2008, 12:15 GMT

Nick FryHonda Racing CEO Nick Fry has hit back at claims he went out of his way to ensure Super Aguri did not continue in Formula One.

Fry spoke out in public ahead of crunch meetings between Aguri Suzuki and the Honda board in Japan, saying he was sceptical about the success of a proposed rescue-bid by the Weigl Group.

He was also at the centre of claims that Super Aguri's trucks were barred from entering the paddock at Istanbul last weekend after he told Bernie Ecclestone the team would not be racing in Turkey.

Fry's influence in the situation did not impress Suzuki, who criticised him in a farewell press conference in Tokyo last week.

"I don't understand how suddenly Nick Fry needs to be commenting on everything," said Suzuki. "Honda were our backers and he's not the CEO of Honda. I have no interest in Nick Fry whatsoever and have no idea what he was talking about."

Franz Josef Weigl, the boss of the Weigl Group, went even further in interviews with the German media, where he suggested Fry had done everything he could to scupper Super Aguri's chances of being saved.

But Fry has denied the allegations against him, and insists that there was never a realistic chance of Super Aguri surviving once a proposed buyout by the Magma Group had collapsed.

When asked for his reaction to Suzuki and Weigl's claims, Fry said: "I think that...is completely unrealistic.

"The reality is that when you looking at entering grand prix racing, you have to look at the medium and long-term, as well as the short-term. I think Mr. Mateschitz (Red Bull owner) has been quoted as saying that when you buy a team, that is when your problems really start.

"The reality is for Aguri, we were looking for a serious long-term partner and that takes very substantial resources. The one that we hoped would come to fruition was the Magma/DIC deal, but unfortunately that didn't."

Fry also denied that he had directly influenced Ecclestone in preventing Super Aguri's trucks from entering the paddock in Istanbul.

"Bernie has been fully informed about what has been going on from the start, as you would expect from a person who is promoting the whole event. Obviously I think it would be presumptuous in the extreme for people to think I have control over who gets into the paddock.

"But Bernie was aware of what was going on, and made his own decision. Once you get things into the paddock, from a logistical point of view it can get difficult (to move things around).

"You can understand him wanting to wait until a decision had been made before allowing people to set up."

Again, what Fry says about Super Aguri's chances of survival is probably not far off the mark, but the guy is again acting like the big man. I'm surprised Honda's board seem to have taken such little interest in the whole affair.