APRIL 27, 1998

Postlethwaite and Honda

THERE were whispers in the paddock in Imola that Tyrrell's technical director Harvey Postlethwaite is top of the list to head the chassis design side of the Honda-Honda F1 team which is expected to enter F1 at the start of the 2000 season. The logic is very sound. Postlethwaite will be able to bring a team of experienced and talented engineers to the project as many of his designers do not wish to move to British American racing, which took over Tyrrell at the end of last year.

For the last couple of months Honda has had a man in England looking for the best possible site for a British factory and we understand that it has been decided that it is better to build a new facility rather than buy the existing Tyrrell site, which still belongs to the Tyrrell Family.

The team is expected to be headed in Japan by former Grand Prix driver Satoru Nakajima, who is currently director of racing at Tyrrell. It is expected that the team will run Japanese rising star Toranosuke Takagi and another topline driver - possibly Jacques Villeneuve - but as the project will not get off the ground until 2000 Takagi needs somewhere to race next year as he is not expected to be involved with British American Racing next year. It is probably significant that Takagi's manager was spotted at Imola in talks with Jordan Grand Prix.

Eddie Jordan has a contract to continue with Mugen Honda engines in 1999 and the deal will obviously be a great deal cheaper for Eddie if he agrees to accept Takagi. This will mean that he has to drop either Damon Hill or Ralf Schumacher.