In 2004, Japanese fans were given a big dream. A dream so close to reality.

Jenson Button and Takuma Sato’s BAR Honda 006 cars were in the thick of the action throughout the season, battling for top positions. Jenson Button finished on the podium in second place, while Sato became the first Japanese driver since Aguri Suzuki in 1990 to finish on the podium (third) at the U.S. GP. The dream of a Japanese driver winning the championship was once step closer to reality.

The BAR Honda 006 switched to Michelin tires instead of the Bridgestones used until the previous year. This decision was made by Jeff Willis, who was in charge of the 006’s development.

Prior to the end of the 2003 season, testing of the BAR Honda 006 had already begun testing as a hybrid car, with a 005 chassis and a 006-spec back end. At this point, the tires were still Bridgestone, and as a result, BAR Honda was the only team that was able to do comparative testing of both tire manufacturers, which helped greatly in the development of the 006. The suspension and aerodynamics that Willis had developed matched well with the Michelins from the beginning, and the performance of the tires was ideal. The 006, based on the 005 Michelin hybrid, was launched and demonstrated amazing speed from the start of the season.

As the season progressed, however, problems began to appear. Although the 006 was generating strong downforce, the presence of flexible wings (flaps) was suspected. It was said that the car normally ran with a large amount of downforce, but the flexible wing activated in when accelerating from mid- to high-speeds, causing a sudden loss of downforce.

The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) mandated ribs (reinforcements) to control the flexibility, and the wing problem was settled, but the extreme nervousness of the 006 in high-speed turns, where downforce was rapidly lost due to speed changes and bumps, bothered the drivers. In addition, the car was hard on tires, and required extremely sensitive setups for the high-speed turns.

The 006 initially had a rear wing separator that was removed due to the violation, followed by the flexible wing “problem.” In addition, complaints were made at Monaco about Sato’s starting system which gave him an advantage in the start of each race. Sato was suspected of having “launch control.”

The result remained “suspected” and not “guilty,” and although changes such as programming were required, Sato’s rocket starts remained unabated, despite programming changes. In fact, throughout the season, Sato’s race starts were consistently better than teammate Jenson Button’s.

Either way, the 006 and Sato brought the dream of the first Japanese driver to win an F1 race very close to reality. His third place at Indianapolis 500 was a medal for Japanese F1 fans and officials, and was the moment that brought the Japanese dream closest to reality.

Sato and the 006 had created other memorable moments besides the third place result in the U.S. Grand Prix. At the Nürburgring, Sato qualified second, right next to Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari F2004, which had won pole position. The reigning World Champion considered Sato a “rival” who could not be ignored. The 006 made history as the car that brought Japanese drivers to the top of the sport.