Geoff Willis, ousted at Honda in favour of Shuhei Nakamoto last summer, has published a scathing analysis of the team's work and its 2007 charger.


The Englishman has remained tight-lipped since leaving the team last July after it was announced that Nakamoto had been appointed Senior Technical Director and Mariano Alperin-Bruvera was to become the Chief Aerodynamicist at their Brackley factory. However, he has broken his silence to pour scorn on the construction of the horrendous RA107.


"Oh dear! What should have been a development of the competent 2006 car [which Willis designed] has turned into a nightmare," he wrote in an article for F1 Racing Magazine. "It looks as though most of the lessons of 2005-2006 have either been forgotten or ignored, and the development momentum of the last races of 2006 lost. Poor corner-entry performance coupled with poor straight-line speed suggests a car that's difficult to drive unless the rear-wing level is excessive."


Pointedly, Willis suggested that the faults were a consequence of lacklustre management.


"Blame has been directed at the aero department and new tunnel; however the aerodynamicists, like all designers, need direction and guidance through the maze of performance trade-offs...[Honda] must start to realise that F1 isn't a place for management by committee, however well intentioned."


That remark can be interpreted as a rebuke to Nakamoto's public criticism of Willis' style when he declared: "We'd been restricted to a certain line of design when Geoff was here. I've taught them the Honda philosophy of being adventurous and experimental."


As reported previously on P-F1, the reputation of Nakamoto, who possessed no previous F1 experience before his shock appointment, has since been torn to shreds, with Honda engineers reportedly 'openly describing him as "out of his depth."'

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Whilst some of it can be put down to 'the car is crap cos you sacked me', you certainly cant deny the car is crap!!

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In the Daily Telegraph, Kevin Garside made the well-received point that even if Mosley had criticised JYS's comedy music hall trousers, at least they remained round his waist, not his ankles...

Yep, he's so right!

Honda need to stop making so many promises and actually start working on that car! Since the start of the season, zero progress has been made.

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Button really must be wondering if it was worth all the hassle(and money)to stay at Honda.They seem to be the only team to be in a worse position this year than at the end of last year.

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Team Granny Astra LMP Champs 2008

I don't mean to start any national wars here (that's the job of governments, not race fans) but I think the Japanese are somewhat inclined to think that they know everything, such has been their success when it comes to TV, video, games consoles etc. in the last few decades and it seems to me that the sacking of Willis was more about proving Honda could "do it alone" than anything wrong with the car that he'd designed which was - to be honest - a World Championship Winner in Waiting...

Shame about Cinderella this year...

Sean

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Supporting McLaren and Force India in F1 and Ralf Schumacher in DTM

It's mainly down to the way how Japanese teams work. Toyota and Honda are both being run by director boards, not by a team manager. Before a new bolt or spring can be manufactured, the Honda board needs to vote about it before it gets approved.

Honda also had the problem with their 1:1 windtunnel, which gave different results than the actual track results. Since last week's test in Jerez with the updated RA107 (which they claim is now 0.8 seconds faster than the Super Aguri, used to be 0.3 seconds), they say their track results match those of their windtunnel. Meaning that they finally fixed the problem with their windtunnel and/or the manufacturing process of their car-parts.

But that still leaves them with the problem of being a Japanese controlled team. What Honda should do, is give the control to an experienced team manager (like they did in 2004 with David Richards) and let the F1 team handle their own business. Their approach may work for consumer cars, but when it comes to racing categories, you need one man to direct many. Not the other way around.

Yet I still believe that Honda can overcome their problems within one or two years and challenge for race victories.

Honda can win...if they completely change how they work. For instance, get in experienced technical people who fully understand how Formula One works. Not ones who have barley or little experience.

Ultimatly, it's the senior people in Japan who make all the major decisions. And they haven't got a clue about F1 either.

It's no good just carrying on how they currently are. They need big change in order to win. Getting rid of Geoff Willis was a crap idea too, he actually understood how F1 worked.

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At the end of the day both Honda and Toyota have flattered to deceive since they entered F1 and it appears to me that their answer to any problem is to just throw some money at the problem and hope that that will sort the problem.

The baffling think for me is that if there is all this money thrown at the cars, why not spend some of it on getting a proven driver or two to aid the cause. I'm sure if they paid enough someone half-decent would come and drive for them and then perhaps they would be able to develop the car better as a result.

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Come On You Stones - Maidstone United FC
DTM @ Brands Hatch - 31st August 2008

Kick me into touch if you like but isn't Jensen Button a proven driver? Last season he was really upbeat about Honda and rewarded them with a win in Hungary a pole position and a couple of other podium finishes. This year he is just totally demoralised by the whole thing, having missed out of season testing through injury. Honda need to give him a car that he can work with and results will follow.

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Speed is life

Really? So Jensen's win had nothing to do with Michael and Fernando retiring? He was very lucky, the two fastest cars went out. Hardly called a great victory is it?

Button's a good driver, but not a great one.

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The point I was trying to make was that he cannot be described as "unproven".

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Speed is life

He hasn't proven much, except that he can win...if two of the fastest drivers retire.

Currently, Rubens Barrichello is beating Button fair and square. So Button can't be that good.

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You may have a very good point,but the way things are at the moment at honda,i don't see anyone kicking down the garage door to join a team showing so little form or improvement.
Honda have had great success as an engine supplier and really do have the potential to be a great team in their own right,but not i feel at the moment.

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Team Granny Astra LMP Champs 2008

I don't think Rubens Barrichello would take too kindly to being described as unproven either.

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Speed is life

That's not what I'm saying.

If Button can't beat Barrichello, just how can he beat drivers like Alonso and Hamilton if he get's a front-running car?

Button just has to live with the decision he made about Honda.

Barrichello is better than Button, but I wouldn't consider him as one of the 'greats'.

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