ATLAS F1   Volume 6, Issue 43		Email to Friend   Printable Version
		Moving On Up
		by Karl Ludvigsen, England

What a difference a year makes. Jacques Villeneuve said it before the race at Sepang: "The outcome of the Constructors' Championship is very important for the team. It means better garages next season and more money for the team. More money means a bigger development budget, which should mean a better car. We need a big step forward next year, so we will be aiming for the best possible result." With Jacques finishing fifth, in the 'best of the rest' position, he achieved exactly that in spite of a malfunctioning drink bottle pump - no trivial problem at this circuit. The single point needed to vault BAR ahead of Benetton into fourth in the Constructors' standings ceased to be available after Ricardo Zonta's engine let him down. So, with 20 points, BAR finished equal in the standings to Benetton, but had to yield fourth place to the latter as a result of the three podium finishes scored in the early part of the season by Fisichella, who carried nearly all the water for Benetton, with Alexander Wurz almost missing out completely on points placings. At least for BAR, Zonta picked up a few single points for sixth place at Melbourne, Monza and Indianapolis. Through the year as well, Villeneuve had a balanced season with four fourth-place finishes, securing fifth place in the Constructors' points and a single-digit number for his car. That's real progress! Remember the laughing-stock that BAR was in 1999? Craig Pollock bragged that Reynard had won the first race in every series it had entered, and planned to do the same in Formula 1! A highly-touted big-bucks team, BAR flubbed big-time by scoring zero points in its debut season, thus earning car numbers 22 and 23 for 2000, even higher than those of Minardi. Before the race at Malaysia, BAR's technical director Malcolm Oastler said, "Sixth and eleventh places on the grid should give us the potential to score more points in the final race of the season. All the team, including Honda, have done a really good job this year and we hope to be able to end the season on a high note tomorrow." They did that, in spades. BAR raised its game in 2000 with the help of an important technical partner, Honda. In its first year back in Formula One since 1992, Honda can be proud of its efforts, which included not only engine supply, but also assistance on the aerodynamic side. "We helped the team to achieve its season's objective to get fifth position in the Constructors' Championship," said Honda's Takefumi Hosaka. "This result was achieved thanks to everybody's efforts, so I would like to thank all the BAR people and my Honda colleagues for their hard work through this season. Everyone at Honda looks forward to doubling our efforts for an exciting 2001." Doubling their efforts! That should be fair warning to others, such as BMW-Williams and Benetton-Renault, who are looking to consolidate places behind the leading red and silver cars. With Olivier Panis joining the team for 2001, pumped up after his test-driving season with McLaren, the outlook for Reynard BAR Honda - to give the outfit its full name - looks good. It would look even better if the team could figure out who is in charge. Their successful 2000 season was achieved in spite of turmoil in the directors' suite at Brackley that made 'The Sopranos' look tame. BAR is jointly owned by British American Tobacco, Adrian Reynard, and Craig Pollock, who put the package together and is billed as the company's managing director. Someone named Ian Ross (who is he?) is chief operating officer. According to press reports he's the only manager who isn't trying to take the team away from Pollock. So who's running the show? I don't see any sign of a Jean Todt, Ron Dennis or Flavio Briatore, a man who's in charge of the team, an experienced racer whose desktop carries that essential reminder: "The buck stops here." Pollock was and is a great manager for Villeneuve, and his creation of BAR validates his credentials as a dealmaker, but his CV doesn't suggest that he has the experience to run a racing team. Thus I have to conclude that BAR has succeeded in 2000 in spite of its management, not because of it. I can't believe that this is a situation that Jacques Villeneuve will long tolerate. After deep consideration he put in his lot with BAR again for 2000 instead of joining Benetton-Renault. Is he counting on Honda coming in and taking charge? Is JV huddling with Honda? Is this the source of the rumors that the Japanese company may engineer a buyout of the team? I wouldn't be a bit surprised!

Karl Ludvigsen	© 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated.
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