FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[elmerfud_2]

Right you are JR.
Dont know, gardening leave, probably had encrypted emails constantly reviewing cad and stuff, who knows, these guys are the pro's, probably wouldnt be scratching his backside watching tv for one year, nobody will ever know.

[Mr.Snuggles]

Lmao your picture is hilarious
you should be showing your support matey
who do you support? :O

[elmerfud_2]

Mr Snuggles I salute Mr Webber of reb bull.
I will get rid of creepy doll avitar soon and find some mark webber stuff (is there a likeness?)
Followed him from formula ford to f1 via his fansite and he actually used answer emails personally!

[Mr.Snuggles]

Oh Kooool Man
Nice one!!!
well go on google &Just type in Mark Webber?
or go on formula1.com and then just print screen an take a decent photo
but i will agree with you here,Mark Webber is a fine Formula 1 Driver
1st race, 5th in a Minardi?
World CHampion material i say

[McLaren Fan]

I'm Surprised Ross Brawn Didn't have a influence in this and make the car look more 'World Championship Material'

Well, that's because the cars for 2008 were starting to be designed in March or April of last year, long before Brawn was even considered for a job at Honda. As a result, Honda should not expect much until the latter part of 2008 and into next season.

[Mr.Snuggles]

i will there agree with you
Jenson has said in many confrences this year will be tough and i am expecting them to finnish 3 or 4th in the Constructors just to get them back into the high numbers,and still show there contenders and by 2009 they will challenging for the title
Jenson is an amzing competitor, very sports man, and is a overall amazing driver and not many people appreciate that?
But by 2009 mark my words, the British will be kissing his arse, and changing from the LH Boat to the JB Boat

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Brawn: Honda potential not seen yet

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, February 21st 2008, 14:47 GMT

Ross Brawn and Rubens Barrichello in TokyoHonda Racing team principal Ross Brawn says he is not worried about the disappointing early testing performance of the new RA108 - as he remains convinced the team can be in a position to win races as soon as next year.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have found themselves near the bottom of the timesheets during early testing of their new car, prompting fears that the team could be set for a repeat of their disastrous 2007 campaign.

But Brawn is adamant that Honda are in much better shape than the testing times suggest, and he sees no reason why they are not on course to be challenging for wins and the championship within three years.

"I don't think what we are seeing on track, or will see on track, at the start of the season or the next few months, is actually the potential of the team," he said during a Honda motorsport press conference in Tokyo.

"I think the team has a very strong potential."

Brawn believes that the aerodynamic rules revamp planned for 2009, allied to the introduction of new technologies like Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), will allow teams like Honda to close the gap on established front-runners like McLaren and Ferrari.

"What is very important is 2009, because in 2009 there are new regulations. And that gives Honda a very strong opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper," he said.

"The difficulty during each season is that if you have bad year then you have to do twice as much to catch up, because all the other teams are moving away from you.

"But in 2009 everyone is starting with new regulations and it is a very strong opportunity for us to become much more competitive. So in 2008 I am going to have to balance the resources for improving 2008 against investing in 2009.

"I am viewing our programme over at least three years – consolidation, strengthening and planning for the future. I am looking for a three-year plan for wining races and wining championships.

"We have to look at it over that period and not be overly concerned with the car we have now, because the car we have now is not a reflection of the people we have now - and it is the people who are most important."

In terms of the pace of the RA108, Brawn believes that an aerodynamic update scheduled to run for the first time in the final pre-season test at Jerez should deliver more speed.

"We will have a few new items in Barcelona next week but the main package will be introduced in Jerez the week after," he said. "And that should be a reasonable step before the start of the season.

"And now we are starting to understand the mechanical side of the car, we have some ideas on how we can improve that in the next few months. So I think the performance is okay. It is nothing special at the moment, but there is quite a lot of potential during the season."

It sounds like most of us thought really. Honda will make some improvements in the middle of the season but are really aiming for 2009 to make some kind of an impact.

At least Honda are being realistic. Toyota are dreamland.

[Jensonb]

Sounds a lot like Ferrari when Todt took over. Of course, their 3 year plan didn't begin in earnest until they had Schumi. Honda are luck, they have Jens and Rubens anyway.

Which makes sense I suppose. Similar deal.

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Honda pin hopes on final Jerez test

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, February 28th 2008, 11:32 GMT

Jenson Button, Honda, in Barcelona testingJenson Button admits that Honda Racing have a big job on their hands at Jerez in Spain next week if they are to make their RA108 a competitive force for the start of the season.

The team's 2008 challenger has failed to impress in its current configuration, and the team are hoping that aerodynamic and mechanical updates that will be run for the first time in their private test next week will help matters.

Button, who was left languishing near the bottom of the timesheets at Barcelona this week, has admitted that the car is not yet where he wanted it to be.

"Our main aero updates and some new mechanical developments will arrive for the Jerez test next week and we have a great deal to do there to ensure that we are in a position to be competitive for Melbourne," he said.

"We have been doing a lot of work to overcome our handling issues but the pace and the lap times are not there yet."

Rubens Barrichello felt that the RA108 was too inconsistent in its handling at the moment to make any firm prediction about its pace.

"We are finding that the performance of the car is quite varied as I had a different reaction from the car over the two days so we have some set-up work to complete," said the Brazilian.

"It is too early to make a final comment on performance as we have our new aero update kit to evaluate next week."

As boring as Catalunya is, it's a good testing track and will show what is good and what is bad about the car. 2008 looks to be a difficult year. They should really be thinking about 2009, for the new regulations will mean a clean slate for everybody.

[Denthúl]

I agree with you on focussing on 2009, especially when it means that Ross Brawn will get a significant input on the car for that season. I think that the RA108 is better than the RA107, unfortunately for Honda the rest of the field have improved so that the RA108 to the 2008 competition seems to be as the RA107 was to the 2007 field. It's improved drivability and reliability will be an impact on their results, but I doubt it will be enough.

[Jensonb]

With any luck, the updates can at least put us in a position to be in the top 10 fairly often and score at least 10 points. But I agree, 2009 should be the focus.