Honda believes its revamped car will make the Formula One team more competitive this season after a disappointing 2007.
Team principal Ross Brawn said Honda’s entire car design was re-evaluated after the team finished eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship with six points — 198 behind winners Ferrari.
Brawn said the new RA108 car is ”a wholly different concept to its predecessors, in terms of its aerodynamic layout and mechanical structure”.
He said the chassis has been altered to interact with new aerodynamic features and the suspension, which will also allow for more upgrades throughout the season. The gearbox has also been changed.
”With traction control and other driver aids removed from the car, there will be a greater emphasis on driver skill,” Brawn said on Tuesday.
Honda CEO Nick Fry said the November 26 arrival of Brawn, the former Ferrari and Benetton technical director, has brought new impetus and confidence to the team.
”This time last year saw the beginning of a downward curve for us, and there is a determined sense that this year we are back on track,” Fry said. ”We have done everything possible to honestly address the issues, which we have to view as valuable experiences which have helped to put us in better shape for this year and for the years ahead.”
Honda said it will field the most experienced driver line-up on the Formula One grid with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello retained for a third successive season.
Button earned only six points last season, with Barrichello failing to score any. Button blamed the car, saying it was a ”complete dog” late last year and threatened to leave unless improvements were made.
Button said on Tuesday he was impressed with Honda’s changes.
”The past five years have been challenging and last year was disappointing, but the team has recognised this and set about tackling the areas that have prevented us from achieving the best performance,” Button said. ”The changes that we have made to the team over the last six months of 2007 were exactly what the team needed to take us forward this year.”
Barrichello is looking forward to further testing the new car and competing in his 16th Formula One season. He finished runner-up to champion and then Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004.
”My love of the sport and my enthusiasm is undiminished,” Barrichello said. ”In fact, this year I will become the most experienced grand-prix racer of all time, which is something that I am very proud of.” — Sapa-AP