07/03/2007
NEWS STORY
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'Helios' writes:
Recent reports suggesting a significant re-vamp of the Honda RA107 indicating upgrades to its aerodynamics and suspension may be somewhat exaggerated. It is clear to the team and outsiders that the car has not performed as well as anticipated in pre-season testing and this clearly focuses attention on the technical direction of the cars' development since its 2006 predecessor was replaced.
The supposed re-vamp is most likely a conventional Sepang spec update that has already been planned and tested in the wind tunnel for some time. So it could well be a case of positive spin being put on the situation to try and create a positive mood in Japan following the lacklustre performance of the RA107 in testing.
The usual early season aero upgrades are launch spec, Melbourne spec followed by a Sepang spec upgrade for hot running. These upgrades are normally fairly minor and mostly concern vestigial aero parts like chimneys, winglets, front wing endplates and maybe a front wing flap.
Major upgrades are usually scheduled for the commencement of the European races and these can include engine covers, side pods, front and rear wings and possibly new floor/diffuser. Production time alone rules out most of these parts being included in a re-vamp in time for Malaysia.
The new wind tunnel will bring improvements to the car but don't expect too much this year as it is a massive learning curve to understand the characteristics of a new tunnel, its data acquisition capabilities, and build up an expanding team of aerodynamicists, technicians and model makers to the same level of familiarity with the car's aero characteristics in both new and old tunnels. The leader of the aero group, Mariano Alperin is a hugely experienced and effective organiser who is sure to get the job done given the space and time to get on with it.
It has also been suggested that the proposed re-vamp will include changes to the suspension design but this is unlikely to be anything major. Significant changes to the suspension will by necessity require different pick up points either inboard on the chassis or on the upright itself, either of which are long lead time changes. It is also vital that such changes in suspension geometry are fully understood and predicable which is not easy when you have a new chassis and new tyres to understand as well. All these things take time and mileage to gather data, analyse, design for change and manufacture.
The design team at Brackley has historically struggled with chassis and suspension designs to suit the Bridgestone tyres despite the principal blame being directed at the cars aerodynamics. Only the 020 chassis really seemed to work well with the Bridgestone tyres but quite why was never fully understood, nor was it carried over into successive chassis developments. The arrival of both Geoff Willis and Gary Savage brought about significant improvements in this area of composite design and it was only with the arrival of Savage that the team was finally able to field a car with full carbon suspension.
The RA107 is the first 100% Honda Formula 1 car since the late 1960's to be built by Honda and it is perhaps significant that the performance has fallen short. The 2006 season saw the departure of technical director Willis, ostensibly to create a flatter structure, senior aerodynamicists Simon Lacey joining McLaren and Willem Toet joining BMW Sauber. The arrival of Jacky Eeckelaert from Sauber mitigated this loss to an extent but what was gained in new knowledge was offset by what was lost in historical knowledge of working with the BAR/Honda chassis.
The 2007 season has already been compromised by Honda having to field an engine that is reliable at the expense of power. Due to engine development restrictions this season there will be no opportunity to improve this situation whilst remaining within the rules. It is ironic that the weakest element of the package cannot be developed by what is probably the world's largest and most innovative internal combustion engine manufacturer. If there is an area of Formula 1 that Honda should excel at it is the engines and what a disappointment they have been to everyone who remembered Honda when they truly were the leaders in F1 engine technology.
Many of us long for the day when the engine singing its way down towards the finish line to win and win again is a Honda. They are such a great team of engineers
desperate to win and succeed in F1 that you can't help but be infected by their enthusiasm.
Perhaps where Honda has failed so far in its excursion into F1 is to have relied too much on the direction of Nick Fry, who lacks true racing credentials and the winning passion exhibited by the likes of Frank Williams, Patrick Head, Ron Dennis, Jean Todt, and Flavio Briatore.
One of the key statements this year has been to remark on the stability of the team and how that will bring about success. A great stance to take but only if the team is already producing the results you desire. Stability is what has been the hallmark of McLaren and Ferrari success and more recently at Renault. However, Honda has not achieved win after win, nor championship after championship, so why the desire to maintain the status quo?
So what is the way forward for Honda this year, clearly it has some serious ground to make up and as usual it will be the lions led by donkeys who achieve the move forward.
For an outsider be it media or fans it is almost impossible to comprehend the efforts that can be made by the design teams, manufacturing staff, wind tunnel technicians, aerodynamicists and model makers - who work long after their managers have gone home - to bring the success the team so desires.
It's that extra effort that each person puts in that makes Formula 1 special. Each car might represent the latest technical developments but it is largely manufactured and assembled by hand, making every component in every sub assembly represent the human effort and attention to detail that directly brings about success or failure every race day.
Honda needs to focus on winning without the distractions of supplying Super Aguri or 'Greenwashing' its corporate image. Forget all the green nonsense, this is Formula 1 and the H badge on all winning Hondas has been red and that's the way it should stay.