With Ford, GM and Chrysler in the US all experiencing extreme difficulties, I’ve been vaguely thinking about the impact on motorsport of one of them going bust. It’d also got me thinking about Red Bull again, and motorsport’s worrying dependency on the Austrian drinks company. But I didn’t see this coming: Honda is pulling out of Formula 1.

The economy is the reason, of course. My first thought on that was that maybe if they’d had a title sponsor in the last couple of seasons, instead of poncing on about the environment, then maybe it wouldn’t have cost them quite so much.

But now isn’t the time for flippant comment. Actually, it is. Nevertheless, I’ll move on.

The team, led by Nick Fry and Ross Brawn, is currently trying to secure a buyer, and apparently has several lined up. I find this hard to believe. They only have until the end of January to sort something out, before the operation is shut down by Honda management. Who’s going to buy a Formula 1 team at this time, at such short notice? Genuinely: I’m interested in any thoughts.

I hope a buyer is found though – for everyone personally involved and the sport in general – and I’m pretty sure that Bernie Ecclestone will be getting involved to ensure there are ten teams on the grid next season. Fewer would be frankly embarrassing.

What if Honda did disappear from the grid though? Rubens Barrichello is arguably on his way out of Formula 1 already, but Jenson Button would doubtless see it as a very premature exit from the sport for himself.

Something to keep an eye on to that end, I think, is Toro Rosso. As the only team yet to sign drivers, might they wait to see if Button becomes available?