Ross Brawn has given the firmest indication yet that Honda is holding out to sign
Fernando Alonso for the 2009 campaign – by revealing that the team is ‘just waiting' for ‘the best driver in
Formula 1 at the moment'.
Brawn has never made any secret of his admiration for the former double F1 World Champion – the only man in the field with more than a single title to his name in the top flight – previously insisting that the Spaniard is the only ‘totally complete' driver on the current grand prix grid [see separate story –
click here].
Now the former
Ferrari tactical genius has made it crystal clear that the 27-year-old is in his opinion not only the main man in
F1, but also the main man on
Honda's radar – whilst seeming to offer little source of encouragement for present incumbents
Jenson Button and
Rubens Barrichello, former grand prix winners both but one of whom would necessarily have to make way should Alonso choose to jump ship to Brackley.
“We are just waiting,” Honda team principal Brawn told reporters at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix. “My view is that he's the best driver in Formula 1 at the moment, and we're happy to wait and hope that he makes a positive decision for us.”
Indeed, Alonso knows he must make a decision soon, with a number of teams – Honda and BMW-Sauber most prominently amongst them – understood to be delaying their announcements for next season until he has chosen where he wishes to drive.
It is also strongly rumoured that the 19-time grand prix winner is set for a Ferrari switch in 2010, thereby muddying the issue somewhat by rendering any commitment he makes for 2009 a one-year deal only.
