Pictoral Tribute – Honda 2000-2008
A pictoral tribute to Honda, some of their best (and worst) moments of their time between 2000 and 2008.
Honda start supplying engines to BAR, a team they would buy in 2006
Veteran Olivier Panis driving for them in 2001 before defecting to arch rivals Toyota
Honda started supplying Jordan with Honda badged engines, not just Mugen ones
This led to Takuma Sato driving for Jordan in 2002
But Honda had to decide which team to support and they chose BAR
Villeneuve walked in 2003
Leaving Sato to take over in Japan and finish 5th
At Imola in 2004, Jenson Button scored his first pole position
Just a year later at the same race, BAR Honda were disqualified and banned for 2 races
At the end of 2005 Honda bought out BAT and renamed the team Honda Racing for 2006
Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari for Honda and alongside Jenson Button created a feared pairing
Jenson and Honda Finally Won! Hungary 2006, the high point
At the end of 2006, Lucky Strike walked...
...and Honda created the EarthDreams livery and concept
Barrichello celebrated 257 Grand Prix making him the most experienced driver ever, but in truth scoring no points in 2007 and very few in 2008 wasn't good
The RA108 under the lights in Singapore, the team finished 9th in the constructors, its worst position since the bad times of BAR in 2000
After the final GP, Brazil 2008 one of the engines just gives up
Bruno Senna tested just a few weeks ago, but his hopes of a seat have gone
...
See ya!
Villeneuve Believes Honda’s Exit Driven By Economics; Frentzen Saddened By Loss Of Team
Jacques Villeneuve believes that Honda’s decision to leave F1 has been driven by the current economic climate and politics within F1 and outside of the sport.
Villeneuve, competing in the Speedcar series at the moment, drove for Honda under the BAR guise when they provided engines between 2000-2003.
“I don’t think F1 is one of Honda’s biggest expenses, but with the world economic climate as it is you have to be perceived to be making cuts,” Villeneuve said.
“I think it’s more of a political decision.”
He believes that the fact they scored just 18 points in the past two seasons, and have had little or no success accelerated the decision to quit, despite claims that they were ready for 2009 and had a potentially race winning machine.
Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR Honda in 2002
Meanwhile, another former Formula One driver Heinz Harald Frentzen believes it is incredibly sad to see a manufacturer who have been in some way involved in F1 for so long leave. He believed that under the guidance of ex-Ferrari ace Ross Brawn, the team had decent potential.
“It’s sad that a long-term manufacturer with wins in the past has decided to quit,” Frentzen saidd “I thought with Ross Brawn they would attack again. It’s a big surprise.”
HHF drove in F1 last with Sauber Petronas in 2003
Honda Not Quitting MotoGP
Honda Racing Europe have been quick to come out and claim that Honda will not be quitting MotoGP as part of the overall scaling back operation by the Japanese manufacturer.
The scaling back of operations has led to the Formula One team being shut down, but Honda will continue to fund their MotoGP team in the wake of today’s shock revelations.
The Repsol Honda team admit that they, along with the other MotoGP teams need to bring costs under control in the sport to keep it running successfully.
“The decision to pull out of F1 does not affect the other forms of motorsport Honda are involved in,” Paul Ormond, Honda Racing Europe’s spokeman told Autosport.
“We will be looking at reducing our costs, as we’re sure other teams will be doing too, in MotoGP and other motorcycle activities.”
Full Statement From Takeo Fukui Honda’s President
We have managed to gain a transcript copy of the full statement from Takeo Fukui regarding Honda’s exit from Formula One. I believe that everyone would be interested in reading it, so enjoy (if you can say enjoy in these circumstances).
“We, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season of participation.
This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the sub-prime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies.
Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economies around the globe continue to mount. A recovery is expected to take some time.
Under these circumstances, Honda has taken swift and flexible measures to counter this sudden and expansive weakening of the marketplace in all business areas. However, in recognition of the need to optimize the allocation of management resources, including investment regarding the future, we have decided to withdraw from Formula One participation. We will enter into consultation with the associates of Honda Racing F1 Team and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale.
In its third era of Formula One activities, Honda has been participating in Formula One races from the 2000 season, initially with BAR, by adopting a new format of jointly developing racing machines.
Subsequently, in a move to meet the changing environment surrounding Formula One, we switched to running a 100 percent Honda-owned team commencing with the 2006 season.
Surmounting many challenges, the Honda Team achieved a Grand Prix victory in 2006, enabling Honda to receive overwhelming support from Honda fans around the world that were looking forward to greater success. It, therefore, has been an extremely difficult decision for us to come to this conclusion without having been able to fully meet the expectations of our fans.
By making the best of what we have learned during these times of economic turmoil, coupled with the spirit of challenge gained through active participation in racing, we intend to continue with our commitment in meeting new challenges.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our fans and all those who have supported Honda’s Formula One efforts, including everyone in the world of Formula One.
Thank you very much.
Takeo Fukui
President and CEO
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.”
