So you've seen the car and heard about Honda raising awareness for environmental change. But how exactly do they plan on going about it all?
In SportNetwork.net's How are Honda going to make a difference?, Phil Huff reports on the car manufacturer's plan of action.
Race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello were both on hand as Honda unveiled a radical new livery set to feature none other than an image of Earth itself. While sponsor-free to the naked eye, people can actually pledge to have their name as part of the pixels used to build that very image of Earth on the car, all for a good cause.
Here's a sample image of the car, courtesy of HondaF1.com:
And here's an exerpt from HondaF1's official press release:Honda Racing F1 Team launches pioneering environmental concept
The Honda Racing F1 Team today announced a major new initiative for the 2007 Formula 1 season. To help raise awareness of the environmental issues facing the planet, the RA107 F1 car will simply feature a huge image of earth, in place of the advertising and sponsor logos which have featured and dominated all other F1 cars for decades.
The car’s new look is a powerful call to action for fans, sponsors, customers and members of the public to join Honda’s commitment to help address the environmental issues facing the world.
Via the websitewww.myearthdream.com, anyone who wishes, will have the opportunity to have their name on the car, make a pledge to make a lifestyle change to improve the environment and make a donation to an environmental charity. Under the concept of “our car is your car”, each name will form a tiny individual pixel which will help build the image of planet earth on the car. Each name will be visible on the website when you make the pledge or under a microscope on the car.
More news and images at Honda's official website, of course.
You can also check out major f1 news sites, like this one from f1.gpudate.net.
It'll be interesting to see these Google Earth... I'm sorry, Honda Earth cars line up alongside the more conventionally-liveried cars come Melbourne. ;)
From F1Technical:The Honda Racing F1 Team will present the RA107's new livery on 26 February. In January, the team already launched the challenger, but the livery still hasn't been released. According to Nick Fry, the new livery will be something that has never been seen in F1. Rumours have been spread for months now that BP will be the new main sponsor of the team, which would result in a green livery.
Can't wait to see it. One more month til the season kicks off, too. Hurrah!
Another week of testing wraps up. Here's Honda's official press release:
Honda concludes three day Barcelona test
And here's the ever-growing worry over Honda's seemingly dismal pace:
What's wrong with the performance of the RA107?
Honda's pace cause for concern?
"The Lesser know... Jenson Button", from Formula1.comWe get up close and personal with Honda’s resident football fan and porridge lover, the one and only Jenson Button…
Q: What's in your garage at home?
JB: I have a Honda S2000 in Monaco.
Q: Tell us something we don't know about you?
JB: I am a big Arsenal fan. I also love porridge and a good roast dinner.
Q: Your favourite song for karaoke?
JB: ‘The One and Only’ by Chesney Hawkes.
Q: The last good deed you did?
JB: I am a patron of the Make A Wish Foundation which is really important to me and we have just invited two children from the Foundation to come and visit me at the Honda Racing F1 Team factory on Brackley in a couple of weeks.
Q: If you were a superhero, what would your special powers be?
JB: I travel so much that I guess the special power I would like to have is to be able to fly - then I wouldn’t have to wait in all the queues at airports…
Q: Your most prized possession?
JB: As far as racing goes my most prized possessions are my racing helmets. Other than that I don’t really have any prized possessions. My family and friends are what is most important to me.
Q: The person you most admire?
JB: I admire Bono from the band U2 and also Lance Armstrong for his dedication to his sport.
Q: Do you have any bad habits?
JB: I have a short attention span.
Q: What would you be if you weren’t a racing driver?
JB: I am a racing driver, so I don’t know what I would be if I wasn’t - I’ll find out after F1…
Q: Funniest thing you've read about yourself in the press?
JB: That my girlfriend is going to be a grid girl. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Q: Who would you want to play you in a movie?
JB: Owen Wilson. He’s awesome!
Owen Wilson? :P
As teams continue to run their cars through testing sessions, the rest of us can only watch and speculate as the season draws closer to its starting date. And so it's this driver this, this driver that or the car might be this, etc. To be quite honest, all of it's gotten rather old and tedious for me to listen to and read, and I would much rather watch the first race of the season before making any real assessment of where everyone stands.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really hoping that Honda does well this season, and I can't wait to see what livery they'll be running with. And I'm particularly pleased that Jenson's karting shunt doesn't seem to have affected his fitness level at all, as he's consistently been putting in a ton of laps as he begins to grow more and more comfortable in the RA107. But all this talk is just driving me nuts. I mean, if I was at Honda, I'd just keep mum and focus on devolopment and get the best car out there by Melbourne.
Let's just get this out of the way then. Here's the latest buzz to come out on Jenson, Mike Gascoyne Button-bashing:'Button lacks spark needed to win title'
Honda's Jenson Button lacks the "spark" that marks out potential World Champions, according to Spyker technical boss Mike Gascoyne.
Button has won just one race in seven seasons of Formula One - last year's rain-hit Hungarian GP - but has often been likened in ability to double World Champion Fernando Alonso and Ferrari new boy and multiple race-winner Kimi Raikkonen.
But that is not a view subscribed to by Gascoyne, who worked with Button at what is now Renault in 2001 and 2002, before Alonso took the Briton's seat for the 2003 campaign.
Can't win over everyone, I suppose. And Honda haven't exactly been blowing away the competition at the timesheets lately. But considering Jenson's been putting in a ton of laps getting comfy with the car and giving priority to the car's balance instead of just gunning for outright pace, and the second driver (be it Klien or Andretti) has been running the old chassis, I'd say there isn't any real reason to panic. I'll just be looking for Jenson and Honda's performance at the start of the season to do all the real talking (and I am hoping for it to be on the positive side).
So, for the next 36ish days, my posts might be few and far between. I will try to keep tabs on very important updates and events, but I can't promise much at the moment. Rest assured, once the season gets underway, I will get back to posting regularly. Whatever the talk that comes out. Do check back then. :)
