Formula One: Honda targets fourth place in Constructors' Championship
17 October 2000
The Formula One season draws to a close this weekend with the Malaysian Grand Prix, round 17 of the 2000 championship. After the Drivers' title was concluded in dramatic fashion at Suzuka, attention in Kuala Lumpur will inevitably focus on the battle for positions in the Constructors' Championship. Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda, at the wrong end of the pit lane this year after the team's debut season in 1999, travels to Malaysia looking to out-perform its nearest rivals and claim a place in the top four of the Constructors' Championship. Three consecutive points finishes have brought the team to within two points of Benetton and another fourth place finish for Jacques Villeneuve, who has four to his name already this season, would bring a positive conclusion to the team's first year with Honda power. Honda's return to Formula One racing in 2000, after an absence of eight years, started brightly at the Australian Grand Prix in March, with fourth and sixth place finishes to deliver the first ever points for BAR. Other highlights of Honda's first year have included back-to-back fourth places in France and Austria and a best ever second row qualifying position in Monza, where Villeneuve was on course for a top three race finish before an electrical problem ended his chances in Honda's 200th Grand Prix. While there have been many positive factors to emerge from the first year, Honda remains focused on the long-term objective - outright success. "We have achieved maybe 70% of our targets for this year," says Takefumi Hosaka, Managing Director of Honda R&D. "We said at the start of the year that we did not expect to achieve success immediately and we were aiming for a position among the top five teams. It will be a good result if we can achieve this in our first year. It would also be good to finish the season with the first podium result of Honda's third generation this weekend. "We have learned many things this year and gathered a lot of data, both in terms of the engine and chassis technologies. We have confirmed the direction in which we are progressing and we will continue in this way next year. We have achieved an excellent level of reliability with the engine and we are currently very competitive in terms of engine power. This base will allow us to put all our energies into delivering even more performance for both BAR and Jordan in 2001 and achieving race victories." The team concluded its testing programme for the season last week. Test driver Darren Manning spent two days at Vairano in Italy, working on the aerodynamic programme for next year's car. Honda will resume its testing activities in December. Sepang The newest circuit on the Formula One calendar, having made its debut in 1999, Sepang instantly established itself as the benchmark against which other Grand Prix venues are measured. The track offers a challenging mixture for drivers and engineers, while the ultra-modern facilities have set new levels of excellence for teams and spectators alike. Michael Schumacher may have dominated proceedings last year on his return to racing action, but the rest of the field is likely to be better prepared this time around. Circuit Details Circuit Name Sepang International Circuit Circuit Address Jalan Pekeliling, 64000 KLIA, Selangor, Malaysia Circuit Length 5.543km/3.444miles Lap Record M Schumacher 1.40.267 (Ferrari 1999) Timetable (all times are local, CET is 6 hours behind, UK time is 7 hours behind) Friday Free Practice: 11.00-12.00 & 13.00-14.00 Saturday Free Practice: 09.00-09.45 & 10.15-11.00 Qualifying: 13.00-14.00 Sunday Warm-up: 10.30-11.00 Race (56 laps): 15.00 1999 Results Winner Irvine (Ferrari) 1hr 36min 38.494sec Fastest Race lap M Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:40.267 Average Speed 192.682km/h Pole Position M Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:39.688 BAR 1999 Jacques Villeneuve Qualified: 10th Race: DNF Ricardo Zonta Qualified: 13th Race: DNF Honda in Malaysia No previous results for Honda in Malaysia