British American Racing

Former F1 team

Short_name = BAR Honda
Long_name = flagicon|UKBritish American Racing
Base = flagicon|UKBrackley, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Founders = flagicon|UKCraig Pollock
Staff = flagicon|UKAdrian Reynard
flagicon|UKDavid Richards
flagicon|UKNick Fry
Drivers = flagicon|CanadaJacques Villeneuve flagicon|BrazilRicardo Zonta flagicon|FinlandMika Salo flagicon|FranceOlivier Panis flagicon|JapanTakuma Sato flagicon|UKJenson Button flagicon|UKAnthony Davidson
Debut = 1999 Australian Grand Prix
Races = 118
Cons_champ = 0
Drivers_champ = 0
Wins = 0
Poles = 2
Fastest_laps = 0
Last race = 2005 Chinese Grand Prix

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 British American Tobacco plc (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 due to new tobacco advertising regulations worldwide pulled its Lucky Strike sponsorship from Formula One entirely at the end of the 2006 season.

History

British American Tobacco (BAT) had been involved in Formula One for many years, with several of its brands being displayed on F1 cars run by various teams (for example JPS sponsoring Team Lotus in the 1980s).

In 1997 the corporation was convinced by Craig Pollock to provide most of the equity to purchase the Tyrrell Formula One team for GB£30 million. [cite news| first = Kevin| last = Eason| title = Tyrrell prepare to embark on final lap| work = The Times| publisher = Times Newspapers| date = 1998-10-27| accessdate = 2007-05-15] Pollock, Adrian Reynard and Rick Gorne were the minority partners. The deal was announced on 2 December 1997. [cite news| first = Alan| last = Henry| title = Tyrrell sold off to new team | work = The Guardian| publisher = Guardian Newspapers| page = 27| date = 1997-12-03| accessdate = 2007-04-27] The team was still officially known as Tyrrell in 1998, before it became BAR the following year.

Preparations

On 23 July 1998 BAR announced the signing of World Champion Jacques Villeneuve away from Williams with a lucrative contract for the 1999 season. [cite news| first = Alan Henry| title = Motor Racing: Villeneuve on his way| work = The Guardian| publisher = Guardian Newspapers| page = 6| date = 1998-07-24| accessdate = 2007-05-15] Pollock had managed Villeneuve throughout his racing career. Villeneuve was joined by F1 rookie Ricardo Zonta. The car's chassis was built by Reynard Motorsport at a new factory in Brackley and was powered by Supertec (rebadged Renault) engines. Pollock bragged about how successful the team would be in its maiden year.

At the launch of their new car BAR unveiled separate liveries for their cars; Villeneuve's car painted in a Lucky Strike livery and Zonta's carrying a blue and yellow 555 livery. The FIA deemed the dual liveries illegal under F1 regulations which state that a team's cars must carry largely identical liveries. BAR lodged a complaint with the International Chamber of Commerce (as permitted under F1's regulations) but simultaneously lodged a complaint with the European Commission. Pollock was summoned to the World Motor Sport Council to explain the team behaviour. A potential fine and/or ban was averted when Pollock agreed to abide by the F1 arbitration process, admitted that in filing the complaint to the EC his lawyers had acted independently and that declarations made in the claim did not reflect his personal views. He also apologised to the Council and reiterated his acceptance of the FIA's authority. [cite news| first = Alan| last = Henry| title = Motor Sport: New team back tracks| work = Guardian| publisher = Guardian Newspapers| page = 7| date = 1993-03-13| accessdate = 2007-05-15] To get around the ban BAR ran one side of their cars painted in the white and red of BAT's Lucky Strike brand, and the other side in blue and yellow to advertise 555. BAR reverted to a more traditional style of livery for 2000 onwards.

1999

In a "disastrous" maiden season BAR failed to score a single point in the Constructors' Championship. [cite news| first = Alan| last = Henry| title = God help Ferrari No.2| work = Guardian| publisher = Guardian Newspapers| page = 8| date = 1999-11-02| accessdate = 2007-05-15] 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. Mika Salo, who filled in for Zonta while he was hurt, provided the team with its best finish of 7th.

2000

During the 1999 season BAR announced that Honda was to supply them with engines beginning in 2000. Honda had planned to enter Formula One as a factory team, but relented. 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. It was a marked advance on its first year, with the team finishing equal 4th.

2001

Villeneuve reached the podium twice in 2001 for BAR, but neither his nor new teammate Olivier Panis's results were enough. Under pressure from British American Tobacco, Pollock resigned on the eve of the launch of the 2002 car and was replaced as team principal by David Richards. [cite news| first = John| last = Griffiths| title =BAT appoints racing team chief| work = Financial Times| publisher = | page = 24| date = 2001-12-19| accessdate = 2007-05-15] Richards' Prodrive company was also awarded a five year management contract to run BAR. BAT and Prodrive had a prior relationship with BAT sponsoring Subaru's World Rally Championship team, operated by Prodrive.

2002

In 2002 Villeneuve still struggled to score points and Panis also failing to reach expectations. However, BAR had won the battle against Jordan, whose performances had become worse. However Jordan won a moral victory by finishing ahead of them both years in which they shared the Honda engines. From 2003 BAR had exclusive use of the Honda engines, and were able to work more closely with its engine partners.

2003

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 for publicity reasons in the car manufacturer's home country. Jenson Button led a race for the first time at the 2003 United States Grand Prix. The team struggled due to its use of Bridgestone tyres. In the off-season they changed to rival company Michelin.

Peak in 2004

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 on-track performance. Both teams believed they had a valid contract for Jenson Button in 2005. 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. Prodrive's management contract was also terminated early.

2005: Poor start and controversy

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 rest of the season. However, they were unable to prove deliberate intent to cheat. [ [http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/1024513021__05_05_2005_TAI_Decision.pdf Official Court of Appeal Decision (PDF)] ]

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 British American Tobacco, 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.

Complete Formula One results

() (results in bold indicate pole position)

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. [http://www.bonneville400.com www.bonneville400.com] ] 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, under the supervision of safety co-ordinator executive, Jamie Hardwick. 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 successor, Honda, to set a new record the following year.

References

External links

* [http://www.bonneville400.com Bonneville 400 website]