Team Super Aguri out of 2008 F1 championship

Mumbai: Cash-strapped Formula One (F1) team, Super Aguri has pulled out of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, with immediate effect, the company announced yesterday. The departure of the Japanese unit, leaves only 10 teams in this years championship.

Super Aguri founder Aguri Suzuki said, that the company ran into financial difficulties when promised partner SS United Oil & Gas Company, defaulted on sponsorship payments, which resulted in the loss of financial backing. The F1 team has been on the brink of collapse ever since.

The team's departure became a certainty, after a proposed buyout of the team by London-based Magma Group failed last month. Super Aguri also failed to convince its partner, Honda, about a rescue deal offered to them by German firm, Weigl Group AG, ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix on 11 May.

Honda, the official supplier of engines and other technical support to Super Aguri, reportedly provided an emergency financial aid to help them through the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Japanese team, which made its Formula One debut in 2006, managed to secure its first points in the F1 circuit after 22 races, with the driver-line up of  Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, finishing in 9th position overall in the 2007 Constructors' Championship.

Explaining his decision to withdraw from F1 racing, Suzuki, a former race driver stated, ''We find it difficult to establish a way to continue the activities in the future within the environment surrounding F1 and as a result, I have concluded to withdraw from the championship.''

Super Aguri team did not register a single point in this year's championship, which is already four races old. Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen leads the drivers championship, with his team Ferrari holding the top spot in the Constructors' standings.

View: Auto videos | Auto picture galleries