What on Earth is going on at Honda?
March 23rd, 2007 | by Richard |For the second year on the bounce, it looks as if Honda are set to make a slow start to the new Formula One campaign, with the team admitting that their new RA107 car has fallen short of expectations.
“At the moment we are ahead of Red Bull and Toyota, but behind the rest,” said Honda’s senior technical director Shuhei Nakamoto. “I know BMW have been using a non-2007 wing so they may lose one or two tenths, but we will still be behind. It will be a massive struggle to get into Q3.”
Oh dear, here we go again…So much hype, so much promise, so much potential, only to see the team fail time after time.
So the question that needs to be answered is why are Honda continually failing to make decent starts to Formula One campaigns?
In 2004, the team (then BAR) finished superbly, with Jenson Button ending up third in the drivers championship, behind only the dominant Ferrari partership of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, with a noteworthy 85 points, and with BAR second in the constructors championship.
Yet in 2005 with the team openly admitting that the championship was their aim, it took them ten races to rack up any form of points finish. OK, they scored a podium at Imola, but they were disqualified for using an illegal fuel tank which may have allowed them to run their cars underweight during the middle stages of a grand prix. But the key factor here was that in the time it took BAR to score a point, Renault and McLaren were already searing ahead in the constructors race, and in a virtually un-catchable situation. Championship over for BAR.
Then, in 2006, with such a promising pre-season of testing behind them, the team, now Honda, once again struggled to make an impact in the first half of the season, Button only managing a quiet fourth place in Bahrain. The first pole of the year came in Melbourne, but Button was quickly passed by Alonso and rapidly fell down the order before succumbing to engine failure going round the final corner of the final lap.
It was clear that although a quick car in qualifying trim, Honda were unable to produce enough consistent speed during races to enable them to challenge for wins.
The team then went through a rocky mid-season, culminating in a low at Silverstone when Button failed to make it through the first round of qualifying at his home grand prix. However, like 2005, things came good in the latter stages of the season, with Button finally clinching his first race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in August, and then going on to score more points than anybody in the races following it.
So what has become clear is that Honda are capable of winning a World Championship at some stage, providing they can get their car going in the first few races of the season.
And at the launch of the new RA107 in January, things initially looked bright. The team had produced a decent looking new car that looked a good step forward over the RA106. And the team were able to look back on the final half of the 2006 season, confident they could carry their form forward into the 2007 season. But as soon as the car hit the track in Barcelona testing there was trouble. Button breaking down on his first lap, while Barrichello posted times a good way away from the leading times.
And although at the launch of the new ‘Earth’ livery, Button mentioned that progress had been made, it still seems clear that Honda will not be threatening the front runners in Melbourne. Therefore it would seem that Honda need to get their act together if they are to live up to the hype set up not only by the F1 media (no prizes for who I’m referring to here), but also by themselves. For at the last two launches Honda/BAR have said that they hope to win the championship only to fail spectacularly.
2007 could be a make or break year for the men from Brackley. A world championship is due…
By LoudHoward on Mar 23, 2007
Didn’t Button get a podium in Malaysia last year? 4th-podium-pole was a fair start to ‘06
Your point still stands though.
By Richard Randle on Mar 24, 2007
Yeah, but what I meant was that in a sense Honda won the Winter testing war before the 2006 season, and they did nothing in the opening races that backed that up really…
By Jacky on May 19, 2007
F1 manufacturers should serve their customers better , ie us . That is the sport should focus more on technology that will bring direct benefits to the end users , who are ultimately paying for their forays into the sport .I can’t see how a pair of wings fixed to the front of the car can be driven on our streets , you could take somebody’s eyes out with one of those .
But seriously , a car with an engine that last for 2 hours , tyres for much less , top speed of 400 km/h revs at 20 ,000 rpm ,gives one mile to the gallon , and cost $200 million to develop will not only never finds its way onto our roads , but is such a waste of resources .
I think the 2011 FIA engine spec proposals to go the way of biofuels and durability is a step in the right direction . It’s not just painting the earth onto your cars , you should be prepared to change the sport, a paradigm shift ,for the benefit of all mankind.
Anyway , I don’t think an F1 car that laps 5 seconds slower is going to stop me from watching especially with guys like Massa and Alonso going head to head . And I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a HANS neck support whilst in my car either .
By aljuk on Jul 5, 2007
“the sport should focus more on technology that will bring direct benefits to the end users , who are ultimately paying for their forays into the sport…”
“you should be prepared to change the sport, a paradigm shift ,for the benefit of all mankind…”
I’ve rarely read such ignorant garbage. Firsty the “end users” aren’t “ultimately paying” for anything. It’s the sponsors,the tv companies, and the fans of F1 who are paying for the sport. Secondly, you already have what you seem to be asking for - it’s called Touring Cars (maybe you should watch that sport instead?).
You can’t “see how a pair of wings fixed to the front of the car can be driven on our streets”??? They can’t, that’s why, with one exception, F1 races on circuits.
Change the sport “for the benefit of mankind”? What hippy nonsense is this? It’s a sport. If you don’t like it, find one that you do like (badminton perhaps?)
F1 is about the pinnacle of what is possible with car design UNCONSTRAINED by considerations of everyday road use. It is a sport - man and machine, pure and simple. What part of that don’t you comprehend? I suppose next you’ll be demanding that the teams attach caravans and roof-racks…