The world’s second richest man, Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim, might come to the rescue of the beleaguered Honda Formula 1 team.

Honda are up for sale after the Japanese manufacturer announced that they are pulling the plug on F1 in wake of the ongoing global financial crisis, earlier this month. Honda F1 team’s senior executives Ross Brawn and Nick Fry have been given until the end of January to find a new owner.

According to a news published in the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, Slim worth about $60 Billion, visited team;s Northamptonshire headquarters 10 days ago.

“The saviour has arrived: Carlos Slim, 67, the second richest man in the world,” the paper said.

“The news is not official as all the details have yet to be formalised. But two things are certain - the team has been saved and the drivers will be Jenson Button and rookie Bruno Senna will place of Rubens Barrichello.”

Senna, the nephew of former triple World Champion Ayrton Senna, is sponsored by Embratel, which is part of Slim’s Telmex group.

Barrichello’s contract with Honda ran out at the end of this season while Button only recently signed a new long-term deal with the company.

Honda has an annual racing budget of around $400 million.

The sources at Carlos Slain’s industrial and financial empire have denied the news and said that they are not even in negotiations.

“There is no deal for the Honda team. There is neither agreement nor negotiations,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Source: AFP and planetF1