British American Racing

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**BAR**

Full name	BAR Honda
Base	Brackley, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Team principals	Craig Pollock, David Richards, Nick Fry
Debut	1999 Australian Grand Prix
Final Race	2005 Chinese Grand Prix
Races competed	118
Constructors' Championships	none
Drivers' Championships	none
Race victories	0
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	none

British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently they formed a partnership with Honda which lasted for the next six years.

The team was named after the British American Tobacco Company (BAT), which owned and sponsored it in order to display its Lucky Strike and 555 brands. In mid-November 2004 Honda purchased 45% of the team, and in September 2005 purchased the remaining 55% share to become the sole owner. Consequently BAR Honda became the Honda team for the 2006 Formula One season. BAT continued as title sponsor with the Lucky Strike brand, but withdrew from Formula One entirely at the end of the 2006 season.

1 History
2 Speed Record Attempt
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

BAT had been involved in Formula One for many years, with several of its brands being displayed on F1 cars run by various teams. In 1997 the corporation was convinced by Craig Pollock to purchase a Formula One team. This team was Tyrrell; BAR and Pollock used £30,000,000 (approximately $47 million U.S.) to acquire the team during the offseason of that year. The team was still officially known as Tyrrell in 1998, before it became BAR the following year.

Jenson Button driving for British American Racing at Indianapolis in the 2005 United States Grand Prix

[edit] A poor start

Pollock bacame the team principal and was able to lure World Champion Jacques Villeneuve away from Williams with a lucrative contract for the 1999 season. Pollock had managed Villeneuve throughout his racing career, so perhaps it was only natural that he signed on. Villeneuve was joined by F1 rookie Ricardo Zonta. The car's chassis was built with the help of Reynard Motorsport and the car was powered by Supertec (rebadged Renault) engines. Pollock bragged about how successful the team would be in its maiden year.

However, BAR failed to score even a single point in the Constructors' Championship. Even perennial minnows Minardi were able to finish above the newcomers. Villeneuve started the year with 11 straight retirements, and failed to finish a race until the Belgian Grand Prix that August; Zonta missed three races due to an injury and managed only a best finish of 8th. Adding insult to injury Mika Salo, who filled in for Zonta while he was hurt, provided the team with its best finish of 7th.

Even off the track BAR had a terrible year. The team's plan to run its cars with two separate liveries (to enable BAT to advertise two different cigarette brands) was highly controversial, and the FIA deemed it to be illegal. To get around this BAR ran "dual livery" cars, with one side of the car painted in the white and red of BAT's Lucky Strike brand, and the other side of the car painted in blue and yellow to advertise 555. Critics derided the cars for being ugly and the scheme was a failure. BAR reverted to a more traditional style of livery for 2000 onwards.

[edit] Honda's return to F1

Despite the disastrous season in 1999, BAR still managed to persuade Honda to supply them with engines in 2000. It was the first time Honda had been directly involved in Formula One since 1992. BAR did not have exclusive use of Honda engines, though, as Jordan Grand Prix were using Mugen Honda units. The following year Jordan were given factory Honda engines, but the engine manufacturers could not supply two teams forever. This prompted a battle between BAR and Jordan for the use of Honda engines in the long term.

In 2000 the new Honda-driven BAR did show improvement. It proved to be more reliable and slightly more competitive, but the team still only had a best finish of 4th. While it was a marked advance on its first year, with the team finishing tied for 4th in the points, it was still not the kind of year envisioned by ambitious team owners. Villeneuve reached the podium twice in 2001 for BAR, but neither his nor new teammate Olivier Panis's results were enough, and it led to the sacking of Craig Pollock.

[edit] Upswing under Richards

Jacques Villeneuve driving for the BAR team at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2003

David Richards took over as principal of the team but the story line continued for BAR, with Villeneuve still struggling to score points and Panis also failing to reach expectations. However, BAR had won the battle against Jordan, whose performances had become worse. From 2003 BAR had exclusive use of the Honda engines, and were able to work more closely with its engine partners.

BAR brought in Jenson Button to replace Panis for the 2003 Formula One season. Villeneuve's failure to produce winning drives eventually led to him being replaced, before the end of the season, by Japanese driver Takuma Sato. Honda has traditionally liked its teams to field Japanese drivers as it leads to publicity in the car manufacturer's home country. Despite Villeneuve's lack of performance, BAR as a whole was on the upswing. Jenson Button led a for the first time (albeit briefly) at the 2003 United States Grand Prix. The 2003 chassis was considered to be one of the best in the field, but the team struggled due to its use of Bridgestone tyres. In the off-season they changed to rival company Michelin, in the hope of releasing the potential of their car.

[edit] Peak in 2004

The BAR garage in the pitlane at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Early in 2004, the team saw a further upswing in its fortunes, Button scored many podium finishes. He also took their first pole position, at San Marino. The Honda RA004E engine was reputed to produce slightly over 960bhp in Suzuka Special form, and was certainly one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful engine in pitlane. BAR finished the season in 2nd place in the Constructors' Championship, beating every team except for Ferrari. Despite this, BAR's first win still eluded them.

During the course of the 2004 season a dispute with WilliamsF1 threatened to overshadow BAR's startling on-track performance. Both teams believed they had a valid contract for Jenson Button in 2005. However, both the team and Button showed professionalism by putting these matters behind them when they were racing. The issue finally went to the Contract Recognition Board, which found in favour of BAR. Button was to drive for BAR in 2005, but signed a contract to join Williams for 2006.

With increasing restrictions being placed upon tobacco companies' opportunities to advertise in Formula One, rumours suggested that BAT would try to sell the team. In mid-November 2004, BAR announced that Honda had purchased 45% and, as part of the deal, David Richards left to be replaced by Nick Fry as team principal.

[edit] 2005: Poor start and controversy

The team's pitwall control center, from which the team managers and strategists communicate with the drivers and engineers

The start of the 2005 season didn't go according to plan for BAR, as they struggled in the "flyaway" races at the start of the season. Just as they became competitive, in San Marino, BAR Honda was disqualified for running with illegal cars. The allegation was that the cars were able to race with their total weight below 605 kg (1323 lb), the minimum weight required for a Formula 1 car. BAR disputed this, saying that the engine required a minimum of 6 kg of fuel to work, thus keeping them above the minimum weight. Their interpretation of the rules was that this limit applies only during the race, not during the post-race scrutineering. The FIA, and later the court, disagreed. In addition to the disqualification, the team was banned for two races, a period which included the lucrative Monaco Grand Prix. The team initially indicated that they planned to fight the decision before a regular civil court but later decided to accept the verdict. Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, saw the sanction as very lenient; they had wanted the team to be banned for the remainder of the season. However, they were unable to prove deliberate intent to cheat. ^[1]

When BAR returned at the European Grand Prix the team struggled to find its feet. In stark contrast to the previous season, BAR failed to score a single point until the midway point, at the 2005 French Grand Prix. Takuma Sato had a particularly poor season, scoring just one point, and was consequently sacked from the team at the end of the season. Sato was replaced in the new Honda team by former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello. Still, the team showed its grit by steadily developing the car, allowing Button to score in each of the last 10 races of the season, culminating in 2 podium positions. Confirmation of this improvement was shown in a skillful pass made by Jenson Button, overtaking Jacques Villeneuve at the fast Pouhon corner at Spa-Francorchamps, in the rain, and around the outside.

At the end of 2005 Honda obtained 100% ownership of BAR from BAT, completing their ambition to become a full F1 manufacturer team. In addition, Jenson Button's Williams contract was bought out for US$30 million, and Button signed a multi-year contract with Honda.

[edit] Complete Formula One Results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Points	WCC
1999	BAR 01	Supertec V10	B		AUS	BRA	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	EUR	MYS	JPN				0	NC
				Jacques Villeneuve	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	8	10	Ret	9
				Ricardo Zonta	Ret	DNQ	Inj	Inj	Inj	Ret	9	Ret	15	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	12
				Mika Salo			7	Ret	8
2000	BAR 002	Honda V10	B		AUS	BRA	SMR	GBR	ESP	EUR	MON	CAN	FRA	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN	MYS			20	5th
				Jacques Villeneuve	4	Ret	5	16	Ret	Ret	7	15	4	4	8	12	7	Ret	4	6	5
				Ricardo Zonta	6	9	12	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	12	6	6	9	Ret
2001	BAR 003	Honda V10	B		AUS	MYS	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			17	6th
				Olivier Panis	7	Ret	4	8	7	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	7	Ret	11	9	11	13
				Jacques Villeneuve	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	3	8	4	Ret	9	Ret	8	3	9	8	6	Ret	10
2002	BAR 004	Honda V10	B		AUS	MYS	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	FRA	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN			7	8th
				Jacques Villeneuve	Ret	8	10	7	7	10	Ret	Ret	12	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	9	6	Ret
				Olivier Panis	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	9	5	Ret	Ret	12	12	6	12	Ret
2003	BAR 005	Honda V10	B		AUS	MYS	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	ITA	USA	JPN				26	5th
				Jacques Villeneuve	9	DNS	6	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	10	9	Ret	6	Ret
				Takuma Sato																6
				Jenson Button	10	7	Ret	8	9	4	DNS	Ret	7	Ret	8	8	10	Ret	Ret	4
2004	BAR 006	Honda V10	M		AUS	MYS	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA		119	2nd
				Jenson Button	6	3	3	2	8	2	3	3	Ret	5	4	2	5	Ret	3	2	3	Ret
				Takuma Sato	9	15	5	16	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	11	8	6	Ret	4	6	4	6
2005	BAR 007	Honda V10	M		AUS	MYS	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	BRA	JPN	CHN	38	6th
				Jenson Button	11	Ret	Ret	DSQ	EX	EX	10	Ret	DNS	4	5	3	5	5	8	3	7	5	8
				Takuma Sato	14	Inj	Ret	DSQ	EX	EX	12	Ret	DNS	11	16	12	8	9	16	Ret	10	DSQ	Ret
				Anthony Davidson		Ret

[edit] Speed Record Attempt

BAR tested a modified BAR-Honda 007 car which they intended to use in an attempt to set the land speed record for a car meeting FIA Formula One regulations. The team aimed for 400 km/h (249 mph), and were planning to attempt the record at Bonneville Salt Flats.^[2] The driver for this project was Alan van der Merwe . The modified chassis performed a shakedown test on the 10,000ft-long runway at Mojave Airport in California, on 5th November 2005. The four published times recorded in this test were 393, 405, 410 and 413 km/h. However, these tests did not constitute the record attempt itself and waterlogging of the salt flats resulted in the attempt being postponed. The chassis was used by BAR's sucessor, Honda, to set a new record the following year.