HONDA The Power of Dreams

“The Jordan Honda EJ12 was the car that ‘won’ the final round of the 2002 F1 World Championship series, the Japanese Grand Prix, with driver Takuma Sato.”

In terms of the record, this is not correct. The true winner of the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher, said after the race: “We were both winners today.”

“There were two winners today. Sato and me.”

The Jordan team (later Force India team) started F1 racing in 1991, initially adopting a car name such as “191,” combining the first numeral in “F1” with the last two digits of the year, but in 2000, the team’s 10th year in F1, the name was changed to the combination of Eddie Jordan’s initials and the number 10, signifying the team’s 10th year of participation. In 2002, the car’s name was the EJ12. It was the second year Jordan’s cars were powered by Honda.

The 2002 season marked the return of Gary Anderson to the Jordan engineering team. He had originally laid the technical foundations for Jordan, but had left in the late 1990s, in a “personnel change” typical of the racing world. His return to a position of technical leadership must have been most encouraging for the team.

This was because Jordan faved financial difficulties off-season between late 2001 to pre-season 2002, and the team organization was in disarray. Egbal Hamidi, who was credited with designing the EJ12, was said to have left the team before the start of the 2002 season, and Jordan was forced to cut a large number of staff members. Anderson’s return arguably saved the team. He united the remaining technical staff and took on the task of improving the EJ12.

The EJ12 was powered by the Honda RA002E (3000 cc V10, naturally aspirated). At the time, the tires were supplied by Bridgestone and Michelin, and Jordan was a Bridgestone user. Team drivers were Giancarlo Fisichella, returning to the team for the first time since 1997, and newcomer Takuma Sato, 2001 British F3 champion and winner of the Macau GP, the F3 championship-decider.

The early EJ12 was said to be a difficult car to drive because of the large changes in aerodynamic characteristics when turning. The EJ12 was equipped with various aerodynamic add-ons around the side pods, chimney ducts, and large winglets in front of the rear tires, a trend in the F1 world at the time, but from its performance, these additions did not seem to be functioning.

Years later, Sato commented, “The previous year’s EJ11, which I drove as a test driver, was a very easy car to drive. Compared to that, the early EJ12 was a edgy car in every respect. The aerodynamic data from the wind tunnel tests was good, but on the track, it seemed to lose downforce as soon as it turned a corner.”

The EJ12 had potential, but was unable to live up to expectations due to the disorganization of the team.

In the first half of the season, Fisichella and Sato struggled, as expected. Fisichella, however, showed his mastery of the sport by finishing fifth in three consecutive races from Round 6 to Round 8 (points were only awarded to the top 6). However, rookie Sato continued to face challenges, including a serious accident in Round 6, Austria.

Thanks to the efforts of Anderson and the technical team, gradual improvements were made in the second half of the season. In Round 13, Hungary, Fisichella qualified a season-best fifth and finished sixth in the race. Sato was also gaining consistency, finishing rounds 12 to 16 between eighth and twelfth. “The EJ12 has become more refined and easier to drive,” said Takuma.

With only Round 17, Japan remaining, the team’s test in Silverstone, England, was a major milestone in their quest for victory in Suzuka. “The EJ12 [at Silverstone] was the Suzuka package, and that test gave us a much deeper understanding of the car,” said Sato. The team had a difficult start to the season, and it was probably inevitable that the end of the season was imminent, but Jordan was finally able to set the groundwork to bring out the best of EJ12’s potential.

With no Japanese drivers competing in F1 in the past two years, the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix was a hotly anticipated event for Sato. Many spectators did not know that Sato and the team was more confident with the EJ12 for Suzuka than ever before. Nevertheless, the excitement of was high to see the young new Japanese hero in action.

Sato and the EJ12 responded to this support. Sato qualified seventh, his season-best. Fisichella qualified eighth. The Jordan Honda EJ12 had made a great leap forward at Suzuka. The hopes of Sato’s first ever points in his home race were suddenly became more tangible.

Just before the start of the race, Fisichella switched to the spare car due to mechanical issues. He dropped to eleventh on the first lap, and eventually retired with the same issue. Both Honda-powered BAR Honda’s were out of the race due to mechanical problems, which meant that expectations on Sato were even higher.

Sato held seventh place at the start of the race and was battling with the two Renaults of Jenson Button & Jarno Trulli. David Coulthard (McLaren) was out of the race early due to mechanical trouble, leaving one points-earning spot open out of the top six cars at the time - Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams. Sato moved up to sixth and held that position until his first pit stop on lap 21, but was passed by Trulli and Button, who had finished their pit stops earlier. Sato returned to the race in eighth.

Trulli retired on Lap 33, and Button made his second pit stop on Lap 32. Sato was sixth and Button seventh, but a second pit stop awaited Sato. This second pit stop would determine the outcome of the battle for points.

On Lap 36, Sato pitted. The EJ12 was out of the pit in front of the Renaults, and Button. Sato and EJ12 were running in sixth. In the closing stages, Ralf Schumacher (Williams) stopped due to machine issues (officially classified as an eleventh place finish). Many cars had problems in this race, and F1 cars in general were not yet as reliable as today. Takuma moved up to fifth. Praying for the car to keep on going, Sato completed the 53-lap race on the same lap as the winner, and earned his first points in his home country. Sato was able to beat all but the top three teams in both qualifying and the race.

Sato raised both arms as he crossed the finish line, and the crowd cheered loudly, making for an emotional finale to the Japanese Grand Prix. This was the reason for Michael Schumacher’s comment on two winners. Sato later said, “It was a race I will never forget. I wanted it to go on forever. The EJ12 at Suzuka was like an extension of myself. The EJ12 was finally able to prove its full potential in the last race of the season.”

There were two winning cars at Suzuka on October 13, 2002. One was the Ferrari F2002 driven by Michael Schumacher, and the other was the Jordan Honda EJ12 with Takuma Sato at the wheel.