It has emerged that Gil de Ferran, a former Indianapolis 500 winner, has quit Honda. De Ferran joined Honda in 2005, a year in which Honda turned around their fortunes with Jenson Button finishing third in both Germany and Belgium, and finishing the season sixth in the constructors championship. 2006 saw Button win his first race in Hungary.
However, the 2007 season has been a big disappointment with the team scoring just one point from ten races, leading to the announcement that sporting director Gil de Ferrari will be leaving the team to “pursue other opportunities.â€
“I am disappointed that Gil is leaving our team,†team boss Nick Fry remarked. “Since he joined us in 2005 we have enjoyed a very positive relationship. However, a Formula One team is rather like a jigsaw puzzle in that every piece has to fit precisely in its place.
“Gil has become increasingly uncomfortable in his role and feels the time has now come to seek fresh opportunities. We are very much hoping that Gil will choose to maintain close links with the Honda family.”
“I am obviously very disappointed to be leaving the Honda F1 team,” de Ferran explained. “I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Honda, with whom I have been successfully associated for more than 10 years. Consequently, my decision to leave has not been an easy one.
“I simply feel that I came to this team to fulfil a particular role and it has not materialised as I had hoped. I would like to thank everyone at the team for the support I have been given and I wish them luck in the future.”
