Honda builds on the foundations of first F1

Honda builds on the foundations of first year with BAR

Honda's relationship with British American Racing entered its second season today (Friday) as the wraps came off the new BAR Honda 003 at a spectacular launch ceremony in London, England.

The all-new BAR Honda 003 will feature Honda's advanced RA001E 3-litre V10 engine, an evolution of the powerful and reliable unit that helped BAR Honda to fifth place in the 2000 Constructors' Championship.

The development of the collaboration between the world's largest engine manufacturer and Formula 1's youngest team will build on the encouraging results of the past year and the lessons learned in the course of the 2000 season.

Takefumi Hosaka, Managing Director of Honda R&D and Honda's F1 Project Leader joined British American Racing Managing Director Craig Pollock at the launch. Also present were 2001 BAR Honda race drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis, together with official test drivers Darren Manning and Patrick Lemarié and BAR's young development drivers, Japanese sensation Takuma Sato and British hot shot Anthony Davidson.

"We are looking forward to our second season with BAR Honda," said Mr Hosaka. "We had a good start to last year and there were some encouraging results during the season, but we have to make sure that we build on this in 2001. We have established good working practices with the team and the joint chassis development project is starting to gather momentum.

"Our target for the 2001 is to have one Honda-powered team in the top three of the Constructors' Championship. We also want to achieve a Honda-powered driver on the top step of the podium and with the support of our partners, I am sure we should be able to achieve this."

Underlining the importance of Honda to BAR's future growth and development, Craig Pollock stressed the need to build on the achievements of last season and maintain the rate of progress in the coming year.

"Whilst last year was a big improvement on our debut season, I am still not happy finishing fifth in the Constructors' Championship," said Pollock. "Our aim in 2001 has to be to finish at least third place overall and to win some races. With the team and infrastructure we now have in place, that is achievable and that is what I want."

Honda's latest Formula 1 engine may be an evolution of last year's unit, but many new elements have been incorporated in preparation for 2001.

"The new engine may look the same from the outside, but we have improved the unit in almost every area," said Kazutoshi Nishizawa, Technical Director of Honda Racing Development. "We have investigated and addressed the issues from last season and the result is a superior unit. There will be a continuous programme of development throughout the year and we expect to make further significant improvements during the season."

The next six weeks will witness an intensive testing programme, including Barcelona and Kyalami, before the BAR Honda 003 makes its debut at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on 4 March 2001.

High resolution pictures of the launch are available on Honda’s media website, www.honda-gp.com, username: honda, password: ginther.

-------------------------------------------------------------- Honda Formula 1 Press Office, 19 Heathmans Road, London, SW6 4TJ, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7384 2133 Fax: +44 (0)20 7384 1238 Mobile: +44 (0)7771 868207