Sauber has announced that its planned technical partnership with Honda for the 2018 F1 season has been cancelled.
In April, Sauber made the surprising announcement that it would switch from using Ferrari-sourced engines to Honda ones in 2018 but on the back of the Japanese company’s consistent issues, the deal is no more.
In a statement, Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur said “It is very unfortunate that we have to discontinue the planned collaboration with Honda at this stage.
“However, this decision has been made for strategic reasons, and with the best intent for the future of the Sauber F1 Team in mind. We would like to thank Honda for their collaboration, and wish them all the best for their future in Formula One.”
General Manager of the Motor Sports Division of Honda, Masashi Yamamoto, said the partnership was cancelled due to differing plans for the two parties.
“We had built a good relationship with Sauber, and had been looking forward to entering the 2018 F1 season together. However, during discussions after management changes at the team, we reached a mutual agreement to call-off the project due to differences in the future directions of both parties,” he said.
Sauber is expected to announce a new engine partner shortly.
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