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Soichiro Honda was born in 1906 and l became an apprentice mechanic at a garage. He enjoyed some success as a racing driver with a special he built with friends and, just before WW2, went into the production of piston rings.
After the War he sold his small piston ring factory, became involved in a couple of non-motoring engineering projects, and then bought 500 small ex-military generators. He took the engines from the generators, clipped them to bicycles, and was on his way.
By 1962, Honda was the largest maker of motorcycles in the world and the first in history to produce more than a million units a year. It was in late 1962 that Honda offered its first mini-car for sale and it was little over 18 months later that a Honda first ran in Formula One.
What is remarkable about the decision is that Honda was the first motor manufacturer to run in Formula One since Mercedes-Benz, which had withdrawn in 1955, and that Honda's production of cars was still only just over 100 a week.
Soichiro Honda went racing to set challenges to his brightest engineers, to make them think laterally and quickly. He knew that the traditional Japanese culture of deference and conformity had to be by-passed if Honda was to succeed as a world player. At first Honda sent its V12 engine to Lotus with the idea of a Lotus-Honda partnership. Colin Chapman sat on the engine, both to delay Honda and to persuade Coventry Climax to build a new engine, which it did, the aborted flat-16.
Chapman's response persuaded Honda to build its own car, which it introduced at Zandvoort in 1964, and raced (for the first time) just a few days later in the German GP. Having failed to secure the services of former World Champion, Phil Hill, Honda opted for the relatively unknown Ronnie Bucknum.
The American crashed heavily, and consequently the team had to miss the next race (Austria), since it only had the one chassis. The Honda appeared in a number of races throughout the remainder of the season, but failed to score any points, or impress the other teams in the pitlane.
Things improved in 1965 when Bucknum was joined by another American, Richie Ginther. Although Ginther's career had been nothing to write home about, he was a good development driver, and that is exactly what the Japanese team needed.
A sixth place at Spa was followed by a strong performance at Zandvoort. Ginther wrapped up the season in perfect style when he took a well-deserved win in Mexico, with teammate Bucknum finishing fifth for good measure.
Honda had a new engine for the 3-litre formula and wanted to go into partnership with Brabham. Since Brabham was tied to Repco, Honda turned to the other driver who was both World Champion and an engineer, John Surtees.
Honda also turned to English manufacturer Lola, which produced an entirely new car for the Japanese team in under two months. A few weeks later the RA300 gave Surtees a surprise, and highly emotional, win at Monza.
The joy of Monza '67 was soon forgotten in 1968 when the team was clearly struggling. A new car, built of magnesium was introduced in the summer, but Surtees didn't like it, complaining that it simply not competitive.
There was also internal division on policy, Soichiro Honda wanted air-cooled engines, his engineers did not. Mr Honda got his way, of course, but the air-cooled Honda RA302 caused its driver, Jo Schlesser, to crash in its first race (Rouen), and he was killed. It meant an enormous loss of face to Honda, and at the end of the season it withdrew from F1.
In 1980 Honda returned to racing, this time with a Formula Two engine, which was offered to Ron Tauranac, who then was running Ralt. The success of the Ralt-Hondas led Honda to go into Formula One as an engine supplier. Honda would have gone with Ralt into Formula One but for a misunderstanding between Tauranac and Honda's chief engineer, Nobuhiko Kawamoto. It came down to a nuance of language, and changed the history of motor racing.
Between 1986 and 1991, Honda powered cars won every Constructors' Championship then, after 1992 Honda withdrew once more.
Honda returned to Formula One under the guise of 'Mugen-Honda'. Mugen is a company run by Soichiro Honda's son - Honda Sr. did not want to build a family dynasty within his own company for fear it would discourage the brightest recruits. The Mugen engines were actually designed by Honda and merely built by Mugen.
Honda also built at least one Formula One-style car as a 'design exercise' and a team went testing in 1998 under the supervision of Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite. The car went exceptionally well in testing and it seemed likely that a full works return was on the cards, then Honda cut its programme. One reason was Postlethwaite's sudden death, the result of a heart attack, a more compelling reason was a change of President.
Instead of proceeding with a works team, Honda announced that it would provide works engines to BAR from 2000 while Mugen-Honda would continue to supply Jordan Grand Prix, which it had been supplying since 1998, having supplied a number of other teams - including Prost, Ligier, Lotus and Footwork (arrows) during the 90s.
While Mugen-Honda dropped out a year later, Honda continued with BAR and Jordan, before opting, at the end of 2002, to focus all its efforts on BAR.
In late 2004, Honda bought a 45% stake in BAR from British American Tobacco, and promptly re-structured the team.
Despite having helped BAR to its best ever season - it finished runner-up to Ferrari - team boss David Richards was dumped in favour of Nick Fry, Richards' former colleague at Prodrive.
It was inevitable - given the changes the sport was undergoing - not to mention the anti-tobacco legislation being introduced worldwide, that eventually Honda would buy out British American Tobacco's remaining shares. And that is exactly what happened in late 2005.
Thus, in 2006, it was Honda Racing F1 Team that lined up on the grid in Bahrain, with BAR consigned to history, much like Minardi, Jordan, Prost…
Looking back, Honda will feel that all-in-all it wasn't such a bad season, indeed fourth place in the Constructors' Championship - ignoring the usual title talk hyperbole that accompanies almost every launch - wasn't too bad a result, especially when one considers that aero guru Willem Toet jumped ship to BMW just days into the new year.
However, there were times during the season when Honda must have wondered what on earth they'd gotten into.
Perhaps the story that best sums up Honda's first half of the season is the disaster that was Silverstone. When Jenson Button qualified nineteenth, spinning off into retirement next day. As the team struggled to come to grips with the fact that 'local hero' Jenson was not starting from the front of the grid but from the back, veteran commentator Murray Walker was regaling corporate guests of the team with tales of Michael Schumacher's genius.
At one stage Button visited the team's Brackley HQ in an attempt to raise morale, however, a couple of weeks later it was the Englishman who was in the doldrums having qualified nineteenth in France.
At the start of the season things looked promising, with Button never outside the first two rows in qualifying, and taking pole in Australia. However, teammate Barrichello was struggling, the Brazilian unable to come to terms with the Honda's traction control.
Shortly after the Silverstone debacle, Honda acted, appointing Shuhei Nakamoto to the role of senior technical director, which put technical director Geoff Willis in a difficult position.
No sooner had the team issued a press release stating that it was talking to Willis regarding a new role, than it was issuing a follow up stating that the Englishman was leaving the team by "mutual agreement".
According to Pitpass' sources, Willis was not only the fall guy, he was, in the eyes of many, one of the few people to offer Honda hope. In the months that followed, though Honda announced a couple of new signings, several key members of the team chose to head for pastures new.
After the messy mid-season dip, Honda put its considerable resources to work and suddenly the team looked capable of actually doing something. A second wind tunnel was brought on-line, giving the team a much need boost for the final races of the season and a springboard for 2007.
In Hungary, a number of demons were finally laid to rest, when Button brought his RA106 home to take an emotional victory. Not only had the Englishman finally broken his duck, his team had put the nightmare of Silverstone well and truly behind it.
The Hungaroring win gave both Button and the team a real kick, clearly stirring it on to greater things, with the Englishman and his teammate consistently scoring points in the final five races. Indeed, in the final five races of 2006 Button scored 25 points, more than he scored in the opening twelve races.
For 2007, both drivers were retained, with Christian Klien brought in to replace Anthony Davidson, who was heading to Super Aguri, as test driver, along with James Rossiter.
Following the impressive run-in to the 2006 season, much was expected in 2007. However, at one of the first pre-season tests, with the car well off the pace and looking a real handful, Button was heard to declare the RA107 a "piece of shit". Sadly, he was right and things didn't improve.
With word already going around the paddock that Honda would struggle in 2007, things weren't helped when the Brackley based outfit launched the car complete with a livery featuring an image of the globe and a PR campaign entitled 'Myearthdream'. While the team claimed that this was its own attempt to help save the planet, sceptics opined that it was a more likely face saving campaign to cover up the fact that the team had been unable to attract any serious sponsorship. Indeed, it is still believed that the 'Myearthdream' campaign was the remnants of failed bid to secure sponsorship from internet giant Google.
The livery, combined with the total lack of competitiveness of the RA107 led to some embarrassing moments for the team with headlines proclaiming how the earth didn't move for Button, while Pitpass was to subsequently refer to the Englishman's season as 'mypointsdream'.
While the team claimed that its problems were mainly due to aerodynamics, others said there was far more to it. Nick Fry continued to claim that the team was still "young" and "inexperienced", even though younger teams were out-classing the Brackley outfit, including, much to Honda's embarrassment, 'sister' team, Super Aguri.
Fry tried to put a brave face on things, citing the signing of new talent secured from rival teams, while omitting to point out the exodus through the back door.
In a season of low points however, one of the greatest was when the team invited the Beckhams to Silverstone, only to see them disappear up the grid to meet with Lewis Hamilton. To compound the misery, Button went off on the second lap.
A series of articles on Pitpass lead to threats of legal action from Fry and Honda, however, it was quite clear that the Japanese manufacturer had more on its mind than what a Formula One website had to say. Fact is, the articles were correct, the team was in crisis and at the root of the problem - other than a lack of serious leadership - was a major problem with the team's windtunnel.
Despite the many shortcomings of the equipment at their disposal, both drivers did their best, particularly Button. Following his success in late 2006, the Englishman was justified in expecting so much more in 2007, but instead, in addition to facing problem after problem, he had to endure endless interviews that began with the dreaded words; "so Jenson, what do you think about Lewis Hamilton..."
Things were that much tougher for Barrichello, who, for the first time in his fifteen-season F1 career, failed to score a single point. For much of the year the Brazilian looked as though he was just about ready to throw in the towel.
More by luck than judgement, Button finished fifth in the lottery that was the Chinese GP, thereby allowing his team to save face by overhauling Super Aguri in the Constructors' Championship.
In addition to Button, against all expectations, Barrichello stays on board for 2008, the Brazilian seemingly destined to become the most experienced driver in F1 history. Meanwhile, the team has recruited Alex Wurz, one of the most experienced test drivers in the business, to kick start development.
However, the star signing, and a real feather in the team's cap, is that of former Ferrari Technical director, Ross Brawn. The Englishman takes over as Team Principal, and though he will have little impact on the car we see in Melbourne, he should begin to make his mark as the season progresses.
While some expected him to be forced out, Fry moves sideways allowing Brawn to run the team whilst he poses with the rich and famous and dishes out soundbites to anyone who will listen. Rumour is that as soon as 2008 is over he'll be out the door.
The guys and girls at Brackley deserved better than what happened in 2007, we can only hope that under Brawn's leadership the team will prove that late 2006 was no flash in the pan.
Statistics - Prior to 2008 Season
Drivers' Titles: 0
Constructors' Titles: 0
Seasons in F1: 7
Grand Prix: 70
Wins: 3
Points: 142
Poles: 2
Fastest Laps: 2
Best result in 2007: 5th - Button (China)
Best qualifying 2007: Pole - Button (Australia)
Worst qualifying 2007: 7th - Button (Japan)
2007 Average grid position: Button (13.71) Barrichello (14.59)
2007: Button out-qualified Barrichello 9 times
2007: Barrichello out-qualified Button 8 times
2007: Completed 1275 out of 2130 laps (81%)
2007: Finished 26 times from 34 starts (76.47%)
Team Structure
Board Member, Honda Racing F1 Team General Manager, Honda Motor Motorsports Division : Yasuhiro Wada
Team Principal, Honda Racing F1 Team: Ross Brawn
Chief Executive Officer, Honda Racing F1 Team : Nick Fry
President, Honda Racing Development Ltd: Hiroshi Abe
Deputy MD (Technical), Honda Racing F1 Team : Shuhei Nakamoto
Deputy Technical Director, Honda Racing F1 Team: Jörg Zander
Director of Strategic and Business Planning, Honda Racing F1 Team: Otmar Szafnauer
Director of Advanced Research Honda Racing F1 Team : Jacky Eeckelaert
Sporting Director Honda Racing F1 Team: Ron Meadows
Head of Aerodynamics, Honda Racing F1 Team: Loic Bigois
Head of Race & Test Engineering, Honda Racing F1 Team: Steve Clark
Chief Engineer, Vehicle Engineering, Honda Racing F1 Team: Craig Wilson
Senior Race Engineer to Rubens Barrichello: Jock Clear
Senior Race Engineer to Jenson Button: Andrew Shovlin
Technical Specifications
RA108
Construction: Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Suspension: Wishbone & pushrod-activated torsion springs & rockers
Dampers: Showa
Wheels: BBS forged magnesium
Front: 312mm wide
Rear: 340mm wide
Tyres: Bridgestone
Brakes: Alcon calipers
Brake discs/pads: Carbon/Carbon
Steering: Honda power assisted Rack & Pinion
Steering wheel: Honda carbon fibre construction
Driver’s seat: Anatomically formed carbon composite
Seat belts: Takata six-point harness (75mm shoulder straps with HANS system)
Electronics: FIA standard ECU & FIA homologated electronic & electrical system
Fuel cell: ATL kevlar-reinforced rubber bladder
Fuel capacity: 150 litre
Battery: 3Ah Lead Acid
Instrumentation: Honda F1 steering wheel dash display
Gearbox: Carbon composite maincase: 7-speed unit, Honda internals
Gear selection: Sequential, semi-automatic, hydraulic activation
Clutch: Carbon plate
Dimensions
Overall length: 4700mm
Overall height: 950mm
Overall width: 1800mm
RA808E
Displacement: 2.4 litres
Configuration: V8, naturally aspirated
Vee angle: 90 degrees
Maximum power: More than 700 ps
Maximum revs: Over 19,000 rpm
Valve train: 4 valves per cylinder; pneumatic valve system
Throttle system: Electronic hydraulically-operated system
Spark Plugs: NGK
Oil: ENEOS
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