According to several reports, Honda has put its F1 team up for sale and if the automaker doesn't find a suitor before the start of the season in March, it won't be campaigning in 2009.

An unnamed source told Reuters that Honda team bosses Ross Brawn and Nick Fry said, "They have a month to find a buyer, otherwise they are closing the team." Autocar reports that a media lunch was cancelled this week and that a staff meeting at Honda Team HQ in Brackley was called this evening and an official statement will follow tomorrow morning from Japan.

The reason for the decision is due to the current economic climate and the cost of developing a competitive car that abides by the 2009 rules. Finding someone to back the team during these tumultuous times is going to prove difficult and there's already talk that Bernie Ecclestone may step in to attempt to work out a deal to keep Honda around.

I have 2 friends who work for Prodrive...

Prodrive boss David Richards has flown to the Middle East for discussions about a potential rescue deal for the Honda Racing Formula One team.

Richards has been pondering whether to get involved in a buy-out of Honda in the wake of the Japanese car manufacturer's decision to pull out of F1.

And although he has made no secret of the fact that he is interested in a return to F1 management, having had spells at Benetton and BAR, he has vowed only to come back if the circumstances are right.

This is why he is now holding talks with investors in the Middle East who want to bankroll an effort. The Kuwait-based Investment Dar Company (TID) are shareholders in his Prodrive company.

Well then, he's on his way to becoming the 2nd poorest man on the planet.

Ross Brawn says his priority in finding a buyer for Honda Racing is in saving the jobs of the outfit's employees - even if it means he has to step aside as team principal.

Discussions between potential buyers and team chiefs Brawn and CEO Nick Fry are ongoing, with high hopes that a deal can be completed by the end of this month.

Although the identity of the interested parties has not yet been disclosed, Brawn has made it clear that the focus is not on finding the highest bidder or saving his job, but in securing the future of Honda Racing's staff

When asked by Gazzetta dello Sport about how many buyers the team were speaking to, Brawn said: "I can only say it's more than one. The objective is to save the jobs...my presence is certainly not a priority."

Brawn said that work at Brackley was continuing on preparing the car for the start of the season, although time frame constraints caused by uncertainty about what engine they will run makes it likely the team will face a tough start to the year if they are saved.

"There's no hurry because modifying the car to install a different engine requires at least six weeks of work anyway," he explained. "It's unlikely we'll manage to be on track during the winter.

"That's why we are studying a package of evolutions for 2010, when we aim to step up the ladder. Next year will remain for us a transitional one."

Brawn also confirmed that he had approached Ferrari for a supply of customer engines.

"Honda has already said it will not supply us with engines, so that's why I contacted Ferrari.

"We haven't signed anything yet but I really appreciated the support from president Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali. It's like being among former schoolmates: they still see me as one of their own."

Brawn also reiterated that speculation Mexican businessman Carlos Slim was poised to buy the team was wide of the mark – despite intense speculation about such a move over the Christmas period.

"This gentleman never visited us and didn't show any intention of buying the team either," he said.

However, speaking about the prospects of the team finding a buyer in time, Brawn said: "Very good chances, I'm really optimistic."

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has said the marque could supply the former Honda team with engines in 2009, provided any takeover leaves the team on a sound financial footing.

Although Mercedes has already committed to supplying a customer team for the first time, with Force India using its engines in 2009, Haug said that it could be possible to offer a deal to Honda.

"If there is a feasible solution with an investor for that team, we would be prepared to discuss it," Haug told autosport.com. "But the financial background needs to be there.

"You cannot give any presents at this time and in this (financial) climate, but we would like to help for the sake of Formula One. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and their guys have done a good job so far, so if we could be in a position to help we certainly could try to do so.

"But the financial feasibility is very important. It needs to be 100 per cent bulletproof."

Haug says that a potential extra customer engine deal would not impinge on Mercedes's current operations, despite the challenges of adapting its power plant to last for three races and the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS).

"This is not ideal timing," said Haug. "We have lots to do with KERS and the new rev limit and so on, which is a really big task.

"You have to do longer runs with the engines to prove they are ready. The guys in Brixworth are working flat out like never before. Even when we changed to V8 there was not as much to do as there is now."

Ferrari this week ruled themselves out as a potential engine supplier for the team despite former Scuderia technical director Ross Brawn, now Honda team principal, having reportedly spoken with the team about a deal.

Honda Racing's hopes of Formula One survival suffered a blow on Monday when their Japanese chiefs said they could not see a 'serious buyer' for the team.

After months of speculation about the future of the outfit, with most recent rumours suggesting Richard Branson could get involved, hopes for an imminent deal were dashed with Honda saying that there had been little joy in trying to find someone to take control of the outfit.

Honda's outgoing CEO Takeo Fukui told a press conference in Tokyo, following board meetings in Japan, that the company may have trouble finding a buyer having made little progress since it put the team up for sale in December.

"There are various offers for the team but we have not seen any serious buyer yet," Fukui was quoted as saying by Reuters. "We find the sale process difficult."

Fukui's comments add fresh intrigue to what is going on at Honda Racing, after Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told the News of the World on Sunday that team chiefs Nick Fry and Ross Brawn had turned down a 100 million pound offer to help save the outfit.

"I tried to help with the management buy-out," said Ecclestone. "They should have taken what I offered. It was a very good offer for everybody concerned. It gave them complete protection but they wanted to do things on their own. Now all we can do is hope and pray."

Time is running out for Honda to find a buyer for the team, with engine supplier Mercedes-Benz reported to need guarantees by the end of Monday that the team have funds in place before it commits to a deal for 2009.

Honda Racing have maintained silence for weeks now about the state of negotiations, with a team spokeswoman merely saying last week that the outfit remained 'optimistic' they would be on the grid in Melbourne.

The Honda Motor Company also announced on Monday that Fukui, a big supporter of motorsport, would be stepping down from his role as CEO in June. He will be replaced by senior managing director Takanobu Ito.