Reports are filtering through on the Internet tonight that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is on the verge of taking over Honda's F1 operations in Brackley, saving the team from collapse, and safeguarding many of the 700-odd jobs currently held by the team's employees. The Italian daily La Stampa reported on Saturday that Slim is about to finalised the details of the sale and will install Jenson Button and Bruno Senna as the team's drivers for 2009, leaving veteran Rubens Barrichello without a seat at the team for next year.

However, it's understood that the deal is not yet finalised, and that there are up to three other parties still interested, as reported by the BBC website this evening. It was previously rumoured that unless serious interest in the team was not shown before the New Year, that the team would be shut down.

“The saviour has arrived: Carlos Slim, 68 years old, the second richest man in the world,” La Stampa said in its Saturday edition. “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 in place of Rubens Barrichello.”

With an estimated net worth of $60bn, Slim is one of the richest men in the world, having made his fortune as the owner of Mexican telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil. Right from the very beginning when the sale of Honda F1 was announced on December 5th, management reported serious interest from three parties, with similarly keen interest reportedly being shown by the team's former Team Principal David Richards.

Talks continue however, and an official report on the stories is unlikely until the New Year.