It's funny how things will happen when you least expects it to. And if it turns out to be a great thing, it's all the more sweeter. The Formula-1 fever hit Malaysia last weekend and just like last year, I was all prepared to watch the race live on T.V. when the wonderfully unexpected happened. It all started with a simple email from Honda with roughly the message "we would like to invite the Temple of VTEC Asia to watch the Formula-1 race with us". I never expected how great the weekend would eventually turn out to be.
When I got the ticket I got a shock. Not being used to 'media treatment', I did not expect to get a grandstand ticket ! But Honda seated their guests in one of the best seats available in the grandstand, directly facing the paddocks. With the rule changes this year, Friday became an important day to the true F1 enthusiast because the results of the Friday qualifying session (the so-called Qualifying-1) became a guide to the absolute speed of the cars. The rule change to the Saturday qualifying session (or Qualifying-2) means the results are now influenced by race-strategy as well. As a result, I made a special effort to watch all three days of the leg. The Friday results were dissapointing and it was already an indication of the difficulties that BAR-Honda had to face for the race. Eventually the Saturday qualifying saw Jenson Button in P9 with Jacque Villeneuve in P12, split by the Toyota pair of Panis and De-Matta with the front row shockingly occupied by a pair of Renaults ! I had felt sure some of the placings above BAR-Honda were the result of strategy and eventually some of my guesses were right but some wrong.
As it turned out, Minardi and Toyota did came in early, with Sauber not long after that. But what really impressed me was how long the Renault stayed out, Jarno Trulli actually pitted not much earlier than Jenson Button ! The battle between Button and Trulli was also nail-biting, with the gap between the two constantly yo-yo-ing up and down. Button got relief from a pitstop problem and a mistake made by Trulli but eventually his tyres gave up and he understeered at the last corner (of the race !), giving up two positions to finish in P7 but still earning 2 invaluable points for himself and BAR-Honda.
But the focus of this article is not on the race itself. Nor is about my media experience watching the race from the grandstands. Rather it's about the experience of my lifetime. When I reached Sepang on Sunday morning, I immediately looked up the Honda Malaysia marketing manager to thank him for his generousity to Temple of VTEC Asia. He responded with a question "would you like to visit the pits ?".
Honda Malaysia's guests were taken in batches of eight to visit the BAR-Honda pits. The batch I was with comprises Honda dealers, Honda Thailand and Honda Japan staff who were here for the race. Our guide, by the name of Robert, was in BAR team attire and he took us via the tunnel which ran under the front straight to exit at the rear of the paddocks, exiting at the end of the building near the Ferrari pits. Unfortunately while Robert talked as a Honda representative, in all the excitement I never thought of clarifying if he's with BAR or HRD. As the group of us walked to the other end of the paddocks where the BAR-Honda pit is located, we were fortunate to catch glimpses of many drivers since it was time for them to prepare for the drivers parade. Unfortunately being very inexperienced in this sort of things, I was only sharp enough to catch photos of a few of the drivers we came across. I did get one of Jacque Villeneuve though which is perhaps the most important photo. I also asked about Takuma Sato since he's the only asian driver in F1 this year but I was told he's in Europe.
Right at the start, it was obvious that Robert thought all of us were Honda staff so I quickly took the opportunity to explain to him about the Temple of VTEC and Temple of VTEC Asia.
As we entered the BAR-Honda pits, I was dissapointed to hear Robert giving specific instructions that no photo-taking is allowed inside the pits but then I had expected it would so anyway. We entered the pits and it was like Alice in Wonderland for me. Honestly, I actually felt very comfortable inside because there are many computer screens all over the place (I have worked with computer for close to 20 years now). I don't know how many TOVA readers are familiar with 'main-frame' computers as used in larger financial institutions or big government institutes with huge computing requirements. Well, the BAR-Honda pits reminded me of a typical main-frame computer room (a bit tightly packed though) ! Many of the screens were actually telemetry displays. While we were in the pits, they were regularly starting the engine up for brief periods of revving. I was supremely fortunate to be standing just in front of a bank of telemetry screens when they did one 'run' so I had the truly unique experience - totally unforgettable for a Honda fanatic like me - to be able to have a close look at an engine telemetry display ! Users of the Hondata aftermarket ECU system will have an idea of what engine telemetry display is like (I myself am using one) though of course what I saw was many orders of magnitude more complex than what Hondata does. Unfortunately I was called away by Robert before I had my 'fill' of the spectacle or to have a chance to take a look at all the data displayed. Whether dellusions of grandeur or not, I will not talk about what I actually saw on the screen - just in case....
Robert took great pains to explain the problems they were facing for the Malaysian race. The weather was extremely hot and humid on race-day itself and Robert told us of the problems they were facing with the grip of the Bridgestone tyres. In my opinion, he sort of admitted that BAR-Honda was indeed slower than the Renaults in Sepang (the eventual race results made this clear to see actually) - the extreme heat being detrimental to Bridgestones while the Michelin shroud teams (Renaults, McLaren, Williams) were much faster. Relative lack of tyre grip leads to many other problems other than just cornering speed. To try to compensate, the cars have to run with more rear wing which means more power is needed. I didn't get the impression that the Honda V10s were found lacking in power but concern was raised at the fact that to generate that extra power, the engines needs to run to higher revs. Unfortunately this leads to additional worries about engine reliability from revving so high in the extreme heat. Eventually BAR-Honda were wrestling with over and under steer in both their cars throughout the weekend.
Next Robert showed us one of the Honda RA003E engines ! Imagine my joy - the dream of all Honda F1 fans is to be able to check out the RA003E up close. He highlighted that working with only one team this year is giving a lot of benefits with regards to the integration of the engine to the chassis. When supplying two teams, the main problem were what are called 'pick-up points' which necessitated compromises in the chassis since it was a common design and both teams had different chassis. With only 1 team, these pickup points can be designed by Honda to suit BAR (and vice versa) without any compromise.
The data given by Robert on the Honda RA003E engine is probably already common knowledge amongst Honda F1 fans - revving to over 18,000rpm and more than 850hp. He also confirmed that it is 10% lighter than last year's unit, and better in almost every way. Being so fanatical, I couldn't resist asking about the much talked about 19,000rpm figure but he didn't really respond. I also pressured Robert for a comparison with last year's Suzuka-Special. I was told this year's engine is better in some ways and of 'similar power' but it was clear he didn't want to say anymore so I backed off. I think most telling was Robert's last comment about the 2002 Suzuka Special. "That engine was really good" he said.
When it comes to power, the question will have to be when Honda will start challenging the BMW and Ferrari engines. Robert's response is that they are confident that Honda will be "the best in the F1 grid by the end of the year". He emphasized this statement again when I asked about the much hyped 900ps that BMW claims their engine will be delivering soon. This spells great news for all Honda F1 fans for sure !
Another hot item amongst Honda F1 enthusiasts would be the 'V-angle' used on the RA003E this year. There's a lot of debate and guessing games about this item but unfortunately I'd have to apologize to my readers - having seen the engine in real-life, I have my own opinion what the angle is but since nothing has been said about it publicly by Honda and BAR, again delusions of grandeur or not, I decided I will not disclose my opinion on this - just in case (also I believe there might be an important reason why neither Honda nor BAR wanted to talk about it publicly so I hope I will not get questions about this via private email).
All too quickly, before I had to chance to really study the RA003E we were led outside so that we can start taking photographs. It was here that I asked Robert to snap two photos of me standing in front of Button's BAR (Villenueve's car was nearer the entrance/exit area where a lot of BAR engineers were working). This photo forms the main photo for this report.
Soon it was time for the group of us to make our way back to the grandstand - the pit visit was over. It seemed so quick. I took the chance to talk to Robert about TOVA and Honda F1 fans expectations and hopes for BAR and Honda in F1. I reiterated our - Honda F1 fans - hope for BAR-Honda to start winning races soon. He took some time to explain to me the team's perspective.
Firstly there was ready admission to being 'over-confident' in earlier years. More importantly while we Honda F1 fans are apt to bring up the glorious 2nd era of Honda's involvement in F1, Robert emphasized that even in 1988, perhaps Honda's best ever year in F1 thus far (with McLaren-Honda taking 15 wins out of 16 races - equally as dominant then as Ferrari was last year), the F1 grid was actually very different then today's. At that time there was only 1 factory team - Ferrari while McLaren-Honda is the only other one using a 'works' engine. All the other teams were really running customer engines - four of them customer Ford Cosworth ones. But today and especially this year, only three teams in the grid are actually using customer engines - Sauber, Jordan and Minardi. There are three teams with 'works' engines; BAR-Honda, Mercedes and Williams while Ferrari, Jaguar, Renault, are Toyota are actually full factory teams. Thus the competition today is really very much tougher and higher grade than those in the 2nd era, not to mention the fact that the factory efforts are running with larger budgets. In some ways it's even similar to Honda's 1st era in F1 (the 1960s) where it was 'little Honda' versus the giants ! So it's an entirely different ball-game today and the message to Honda F1 fans is that Honda really can't expect to just walk in and be dominant immediately, not after only three years (or 4 years for BAR).
So the message is clear. The heydays are great and they should only be remembered and cherished but for what they are. The situation is very different today with very strong competitors. BAR-Honda is confident of improving and with the committment of Honda, they are confident of success. But success will not come overnight and not without a lot of hardwork.
Finally as an indication of how serious Honda's committment is to F1, Robert emphasized that Honda has assigned three of their absolute best engineers to the BAR-Honda F1 effort. Besides Kikiuchi who is famous as being Aryton Senna's engineer during the glorious 2nd era, Robert especially emphasized that Honda has assigned their best chassis designer to the BAR-Honda effort. Not best race-chassis designer and not best road-chassis designer he said but the absolute best chassis designer Honda has. This goes to show just how deep Honda's commitment is to success in this, their 3rd era in Formula-1 involvement (and for Honda F1 fans, it also confirms the heavy involvement Honda has in chassis development on the new BAR005). So we the fanatical Honda F1 fans are urged to continue to give our undying support. But we also need to give Honda and BAR time to make things work. One thing is certain; success will come.
How do I conclude an article which talks about one of the most unforgettable events of my life ? Well, I think it's most apt that I again publicly extend my deepest appreciation to Honda for this unique opportunity. I have said it before and I will say it again, Honda do value their fans a lot and their recognition of Temple of VTEC Asia by giving me this invaluable opportunity is the best testament to that.
Readers who wish to discuss about this article are encouraged to visit our TOV Forums at Professional Motorsports Forum.
Wong KN
March 2003
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