Honda Motor Company, Ltd. announced today (July 23rd) at the German Grand Prix (Round 12 of the 2004 Formula One World Championship, at Hockenheim) that it had reached agreement with B·A·R (British American Racing) to extend its contract for the supply of F1 engines to the team until the end of 2007.

Honda returned to the Formula One World Championship in 2000 after signing a contract with the B·A·R team for the supply of engines and joint development of the chassis. In December 2001 the contract was extended for a further three years from 2002. The extended agreement included provisions for strengthening the joint chassis development program, and Honda has also continued to further improve its development structure within Honda R&D.

As a result, the B·A·R Honda team currently lies third in the 2004 Constructors’ Championship. British driver Jenson Button has achieved 6 podium finishes, and team-mate Takuma Sato scored the first podium finish by a Japanese driver for 14 years with his third place finish at the U.S. Grand Prix.

With this new agreement Honda and B·A·R renew their commitment to challenge for the Formula One World Championship into next season and beyond.

“Five years have passed since Honda began its 3rd era of Formula One racing. This season we are realizing concrete progress in this new challenge and are aiming to reach our initial goal of getting our first victory. In order to consistently win races in the future, we have made a new multi-year contract with B·A·R in which we will supply engines and conduct joint development of chassis technology. We will continue to make an utmost effort in this Formula One challenge and ask for your continued support as we strive to fulfill the expectations of Honda motorsports fans worldwide.