- Honda RA107
Racing car
Car_name = Honda RA107
Category =Formula One
Constructor =Honda Racing F1
Designer = flagicon|JapanShuhei Nakamoto (Senior Technical Director) flagicon|Argentina Mariano Alperin-Bruvera (Head ofaerodynamics )
Team = Honda Racing F1 Team
Drivers = flagicon|UKJenson Button
flagicon|BrazilRubens Barrichello
Chassis = Mouldedcarbon fibre and honeycomb compositemonocoque
Front suspension = Double wishbone with pushrod-activated torsion springs and rockers, Showa dampers
Rear suspension = As front
Engine name = Honda RA807E
Capacity = 2.4L
Configuration = 90°V8 ,
Turbo/NA =naturally aspirated ,
Engine position = mid-mounted
Gearbox name = Honda
Gears = 7-speed
Type = sequential semi-automatic
Differential =
Fuel = Elf
Oil = Eneos
Tyres =Bridgestone
Debut =2007 Australian Grand Prix
Races = 17
Wins = 0
Cons_champ = 0
Drivers_champ = 0
Poles = 0
Fastest_laps = 0
The Honda RA107 is aFormula One racing car with whichHonda Racing F1 contested the2007 Formula One season . A modified version of the RA107, renamed theSuper Aguri SA08 was used bySuper Aguri in the2008 Formula One season .Launch Information
It was revealed to the public on
January 25 2007 at theCircuit de Catalunya inSpain . The RA107 was launched with the interim winter testing livery before the final colours were unveiled onFebruary 26 .The 'livery launch' for the RA107 took place at the
Natural History Museum inLondon and showed a completely new take on the look of aFormula One car. Honda's 2007 paint scheme does not use sponsorship branding but instead is focused on Honda's environmental desires. The car has been dubbed by some (including Honda themselve and team CEONick Fry [http://www.hondaracingf1.com/php/audiovideo_popup.php?audiovideo_id=1024&type=video&size=2] ) as 'The Honda Earth car' and the car's livery depicts the planet Earth against the black background of space, with the only logos on the car being theType R Honda 'H', and theBridgestone logo, all at the very front of the car. On the rear wing is the web address of environmental awareness website [http://www.myearthdream.com My Earth Dream] , launching onFebruary 27 , 2007. This is the first time in 30 years that a Grand Prix car has gone to the grid without a sponsored permanent livery.Along with the launch of the new theme, a number of new sponsors were named at the launch event. These included two large global brands,
Universal Music andGatorade , as well as a large number of other companies includingFila ,IBM ,Instron ,Oliver Sweeney ,Perkin Elmer ,Showa Denko ,TUV andGF Agie Charmilles . "Honda launch green campaign and livery", [http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56946 Autosport report] , retrieved 26th February 2007]2007 Season
The team's form in pre-season testing was patchy, and
Jenson Button urged the squad to improve. It seemed the car was unable to produce the sort of results the car's predecessor had done but nobody on the outside could have ever known how awful the situation actually was.The RA107's sheer lack of pace was evident at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on
March 18 , with Button and Barrichello qualifying 14th and 17th respectively (well behind the 'customer' Super Aguri team, whose car, theSuper Aguri SA07 , is effectively an update of last year's Honda, the RA106). Barrichello finished the race in 11th place, with Button in 15th after receiving a drive-through penalty for speeding in thepit lane .Things did not get better for either driver as the team did not score any points in Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco, Canada or America either. The car's reliability was proving to be good but this only further exposed the lack of pace it had. Honda did have their chances to gain points, however, at Monaco, Canada and Europe. The former of those races was where Honda had their most competitive race up to that point but they were on the wrong strategy and required to pit an extra time, dooming them to another pointless race. The other two races, however, were ones of chaos and at Canada, Barrichello could have finished as high as third but was again on the wrong strategy which required him to pit an extra time dropping him to 12th. In Europe, Jenson Button had had a strong first lap before the rain arrived and was up to 4th place before he aquaplaned off the circuit at the end of the pit straight, as did five other drivers.
At the French Grand Prix Button finished 8th, finally earning his and his team's first point of the season. This was a rare highlight as the car proved to be slow in subsequent races. The car put on its worst performance yet in Hungary where the RA107 proved to be the slowest car on the grid and Barrichello finished 18th and last. Honda debuted a front wing which looked very similar to the Spyker's wing. Button ran ahead of
Adrian Sutil in his Spyker, but the Honda's engine failed before the Spyker could overtake during pitstops.For Monza, Honda reverted to using the old front wing and it seemed to pay off. Button scored his and Honda's second point of the season. At this point, they were still embarrassingly behind
Super Aguri in the points table. At the Belgian Grand Prix both drivers were running well out of the points before Button eventually retired with hydraulic issues. This was not before theSuper Aguri ofTakuma Sato managed to pass Button around the outside going into Les Combes as had happened before at the USGP where Davidson in the sister Super Aguri overtook Button's Honda.Honda RA107B
Plans had been revealed by the Honda team that they would introduce a B-Spec chassis in the middle of the season. Sources stated that the new chassis would incorporate a longer wheel-base like the
Ferrari F2007 and improved sidepods and air fluxation units. Sources said the team planned to replace the narrow front nose with a more efficient, wider nose and front wing. All of these sources were proved to be incorrect, however, and visible changes were limited to the front suspension along with a differently-shaped airbox. The car was introduced at the French GP and did not prove to be much of an inprovement although it allowed Button to score his and Honda's first point.The B-Spec Chassis was expected to form the basis of the 2008 car but were never released. They planned to make major changes with the new front wings, additional winglets on the sidepods to try and create more mechanical grip and aerodynamic force & forward & main rear bargeboards. However it turned out they did not bring any improvement to the car, and the team have decided against using them in 2008. "Honda abandon Fuji aero updates", [http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62811 Autosport, retrieved 10th December 2007] ]
During testing at Spain, test driver
Christian Klien 's RA107 was run with a set of large winglets towards the front of the car, arched at a high vertical angle and giving the appearance ofelephant ears. The winglets were not used on the RA107 in races, although a modified version appeared on its successor, the RA108, at the Spanish Grand Prix.Complete Formula One results
() (results in bold indicate pole position)
Notes and references
External links
* [http://www.manipef1.com/news/2007/index.php?id=172 Full list of Technical Specifications of the RA107]
* [http://www.hondaracingf1.com/php/audiovideo_popup.php?audiovideo_id=1024&type=video&size=2 Livery launch video - 26.02.2007 480x320]
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