Super Aguri eases to £4.5m loss in its first year in F1

The Oxfordshire-based Super Aguri Formula One team, home to UK driver Anthony Davidson and one of the few F1 outfits not owned by a billionaire or a car manufacturer, has posted a £4.5m loss in its first year in the sport.

The team is owned by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki and was only established four months before competing in its first F1 race in 2006. Boasting just 83 employees, it competes against teams with more than 500 staff.

With one of the lowest incomes of any of the 11 F1 teams, Super Aguri files abbreviated accounts that don't show turnover. Industry monitor Formula Money estimates that its sponsors paid a total of $5m (£2.5m) in 2006; Ferrari received over $180m last year.

Yet despite their financial support, many F1 teams struggle to break even. Last year the Willi- ams team posted a £28m loss.

The key to Super Aguri's survival has been a technical partnership with Honda, which supplies engines in exchange for advertising space on the car. In a sport where engine production and research and development costs can accelerate up to $100m, this has been a huge saving for the team.