Honda - So close yet so far

To me, Honda did improve in some area, as they were in contention for points which is a rarity last season. I must say Ruben Barrichello did a good job on defending his position while Kimi Raikkonen try to attack from the back. But on the other hand, he made a terrible mistake - leaving the pit lane exit when the red light is on, which caused the team and himself three precious points.


Rubens Barrichello's pit stop during the Melbourne race

A DNF (Jenson Button crashed out on the first lap) and a disqualification definitely not what Honda wants, but they will be points-contender this season.

See what Ross Brawn think about the Melbourne race and the Honda Team.

Exclusive Interview - Ross Brawn

Honda still struggling

Honda RA108

It seems like Honda did alot of changes on the new RA108, the look, as well as the team member, Ross Brawn. But what have not change? The speed, the position on the timesheet...

It is rather disappointing, despite the among of work that invested.

Due to the unsolve problem, Honda will stay in spain for the another 3 days (most team will be leaving spain) to rectify the handling issue, hopefully it will helps to improve the situation.

Honda will use their final pre-season test at Jerez next week to trial an all-new aerodynamics package, as the team bid to get the RA108 on the pace ahead of the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix.

New Honda (Earth Dream) - RA108

"The RA108 car is a wholly different concept to its predecessors, in terms of its aerodynamic layout and mechanical structure. The design philosophy has been developed to allow greater scope for aerodynamic packaging and exploitation, particularly to facilitate the introduction of performance upgrades through the season.

"The focus has been on attaining a high level of aerodynamic efficiency with stability and this is reflected in the way that the chassis has been revised to interact with the different aerodynamic features and the suspension. This approach should allow more potential for further developments to take place, the first of which will be for Melbourne when we will introduce a substantially revised aerodynamic package compared with the car we have launched today.

"The Honda RA808E engine is subject to the FIA engine homologation regulations and therefore the vast majority of engine components remain unchanged. The exhaust geometry and air box have changed to suit the RA108 aerodynamic package. An additional development is the FIA requirement that the fuel mix should now contain 5.75 percent biofuel - an initiative that Honda fully supports.

More report: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/1/7305.html