HONDA The Power of Dreams

2006 marked a major milestone in Honda’s third F1 era: the return of a full-factory team after 38 seasons.

Since its return to F1 in 2000 as an engine supplier, Honda had competed together with the BAR team (Honda also supplied engines to Jordan from 2001 to 2002). As Honda deepened its ties with the team, it gradually began to focus its efforts on developing the chassis, particularly the gearbox, and for the 2006 season, it absorbed the BAR team, transforming it into the Honda Racing F1 Team (HRF1).

Honda’s move was influenced by two trends in the F1 world at the time. First, BAR, originally a tobacco-financed team, was facing the growing problem of tobacco advertising restrictions, especially in Europe. BAR Honda had to make a gradual transition away from tobacco capital (the official team name in 2006 was Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team, and from the following year, 2007, it was called Honda Racing F1 Team).

Another trend in F1 at the time, which was probably the more significant reason for establishing HRF1, was the extremely strong technical and financial involvement of Japanese and European automakers in F1 at the beginning of the 21st century. Renault had made Benetton a factory team since 2002, Toyota had been competing as a full-factory team since 2002, and Mercedes had strengthened its partnership with McLaren. BMW, which, like Honda, had returned as an engine supplier in 2000, had been competing with Williams as a partner until 2005, but by the 2006 season it had acquired Sauber to make it a full-factory team. In order to win races, it was inevitable that automakers needed to take over the teams. In addition, Honda, in its third F1 era, had yet to win a race after six years of competition, and it was time to make drastic changes, regardless of the current trends in the F1 world.

“Honda-Honda,” the all-Honda team that built both chassis and engine, had returned for the first time since its first F1 era of 1964 - 1968.

The team continued to be based in Brackley, England. Michelin tires were still used. Jenson Button remained as race driver, joined by Rubens Barrichello from Ferrari. The third driver was Anthony Davidson. Takuma Sato has moved to a new team, Super Aguri, which was powered by Honda engines.

The 2006 season was a season of major engine regulation changes. 3000cc V10s were replaced by 2400cc V8s. The model name of the new Honda engine was RA806E. The V10s of the previous years had been named RA000E through RA005E, where the first digit represented the number of cylinders (only the “0” in “10” was used), and the next two digits signified the year. The RA806 followed this naming rule, with “RA” standing for “Racing Automobile” and “E” for “Engine.” With the return of Honda as a factory team, the “RA” designation also returned. The 2006 car, the RA106’s numerals represented “1” for F1 and “06” for 2006.

The RA106 was designed mainly by technical director Jeff Willis, who left the team in the middle of 2006. It was a natural progression of the BAR Hondas until then, but it also led to the reputation of being “too conservative.” However, it incorporated high-quality technology such as the seamless gearbox, for which Honda was the trend leader in F1, and the RA106 was even more refined (although it could be argued that by 2006, other teams had caught up).

Button kicked off the season with good results in the RA106, finishing fourth and third in the first two rounds. However, considering that his starting grid positions were third and second in the same races, the results were somewhat unsatisfactory. In Round 3, Australia, which was usually held as the opening round, Button took pole position. This was the first pole position for Honda, the chassis constructor, in 38 years since the 1968 Italian GP. However, he stopped on the last lap due to machine problems whilst in fifth (treated as a 10th place finish), and he continued to suffer disappointing results.

In Round 4, San Marino, Button and Barrichello started from second and third on the grid, but finished seventh and tenth. Even in hindsight, this season where Honda would qualify well but finish in lower positions, stood out. Although the team was able to finish within the points (the top eight at the time), it was difficult to achieve a podium since Button’s performance in Malaysia.

Honda was retiring more often mid-season, but in Round 13, Hungary on August 6, a moment of joy came in the drenched race.

Button had qualified fourth, but due to an engine change penalty, he started 14th on the grid. The race was already looking tumultuous before the start as Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Renault), both contenders for the championship, were penalized for their actions on the track during free practice and were moved down to eleventh and 15th on the grid, respectively. In addition, F1 at that time required refueling during the race, and with the rain, the flow of the race was hard to read and tire choice was vital.

In a race where apparent positions did not always indicate the actual situation, Button completed Lap 1 in eleventh place, but by Lap 7 was up to fourth, and by Lap 27 up to second. At this point, Alonso led, showing the class of a championship leader. On Lap 46, with around one-third of race distance remaining, Button pitted for his second refueling stop. He did not change tires and returned to the track on standard wets. Alonso pitted on Lap 51, switched to dry tires, and returned in the lead, only to crash shortly after (reportedly due to wheel nut-related problems).

This gave Button the lead, and after switching to dry tires on Lap 54, all he had to do was pick up the pace to win. It is fair to say that Button’s smooth driving style, sometimes referred to as ”silky smooth,” was effective in the delicate track conditions, but the race was also the culmination of the Honda RA106’s technology refined since the BAR Honda days, which was sometimes described as “conservative.” The checkered flag flew at the Hungaroring, marking the long-awaited first victory for Jenson Button in his seventh year in F1, the first win for Honda in the seven years of its third F1 era, and the 72nd win for Honda engines, last winning the last race of its second F1 era, the 1992 Australian GP, and the third win for chassis constructor Honda, the last race won in its first F1 era in the 1967 Italian GP 39 years ago.

Toward the end of the season, the RA106 began to gain consistent results. From Round 13, Hungary, which he won, through to the 18th and final round, Button finished in the top five in every race, earning points each time. In the final round in Brazil, Button finished on the podium (third) for the third time in the season. Barrichello, too, had finished consistently within eighth since his fourth place finish in Hungary, with the exception of the Japanese GP. The victory in Hungary was partly due to luck, but it was also a sign that the new Japanese-led team headed by Shuhei Nakamoto was beginning to take effect. In the drivers’ standings, Button was sixth and Barrichello seventh, and Honda (HRF1) was fourth in the constructors’ standings. This was the second best result in Honda’s third F1 era, including the BAR Honda era, following its second place in 2004.

The RA106 was unfortunately Honda’s only car to win the championship in its third F1 era, but its name is engraved in history as a car that defended Honda’s pride.