Vital Statistics:
- Founded: 2009
- Based: Brackley, England
- World Constructors' Titles: 0
- World Drivers' Titles: 0
Ross Brawn:
Ross joined the Honda team after a year's sabbatical in which he had to find out where his future lay after one of the most successful careers in Formula One as a technical director. Ross was part of the dream team that took Michael Schumacher to his two world titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before he moved on with a few of the key people to Ferrari to turn the Italian team into the dominating machine it became from 1999 to 2004. During that time it won every world constructors' title and Schumacher won the drivers' title every year from 2000 to 2004.Nick Fry:
In some ways, Nick is representative of the new breed of F1 team directors: He does not come from the old school of racers who worked their way up from the lowest levels as mechanics to owning and directing their own teams. In fact, he did not come from racing, but from a corporate background in the car industry. Nick worked for Ford Motor Company for two decades in several capacities, always as a high level manager, before joining the Prodrive racing team owned by David Richards. He joined BAR in 2002, first as managing director, then CEO, applying his corporate style to today's car manufacturer driven F1.A Brief History:
At first known as British American Racing, the team was created by Craig Pollock, the manager of Jacques Villeneuve for the Canadian world champion. In its first season, in 1999, and with a Supertec engine, the team was the only one of the 11 to score no points. It clearly needed a better engine and a manufacturer to back it. So in 2000, Honda joined the team and it immediately finished fifth in the championship, with 20 points. The following year, however, Pollock ceased to run the team, and his job was handed over to David Richards.The Honda Years:
Honda started racing in Formula 1 as a full-fledged team in 1964, and stayed until 1968. During that time, it won two races. Then, as a supplier of engines to other teams, it raced from 1983 to 1992 and won 69 races. After an eight-year hiatus, Honda returned as an engine provider and then part owner of the BAR team from 2000 to 2005. In 2006 it took full control and renamed it Honda.The Honda Pullout:
In 2006, in the first year as the new entity of Honda Racing, the team took its first victory, at the Hungarian Grand Prix. With a strong driver pair in Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, and with a clear commitment for the future from Honda, the team had all the elements in place to continue to progress. But suddenly, as the world market for automobiles crumbled in the autumn of 2008, after the F1 season Honda announced that it was pulling out of F1 racing. The company said it needed to focus on its core activities. But finishing ninth out of 10 teams in 2008 surely did not help.
