Design and history
The BAR 007 was a clear evolution of the BAR 006, which had been highly successful for the team, leading to their second place in the 2004 championship behind Ferrari. Designers focused on creating a tighter, smaller design, achieving significant weight savings despite greater safety testing being required for the 2005 season. The engine, a new V10 unit created by Honda, was smaller, lighter, and had a better centre of gravity than the 2004 engine. Modifications were also made to the gearbox to accommodate the new chassis design. A multi-profile front wing was introduced midway through the season.
At the end of the 2005 season, Honda secured 100% team ownership, purchasing it from British American Tobacco, though the BAT sponsorship continued throughout 2006.
Racing history
The team had a poor start to the season, and were involved in controversy over the minimum weight of their cars. This led to disqualification from the San Marino Grand Prix, a ban from two subsequent races, and a non-start at the United States Grand Prix due to tyre concerns. The team failed to score a point until the French Grand Prix. However, Jenson Button’s form improved, earning points in the last ten races and achieving podium finishes. Takuma Sato scored only one point throughout the season and was subsequently released from the team.
Controversy
Both BAR-Honda cars were disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix after it was found the cars could run below the minimum weight, stated by the FIA regulations of 605 kg. BAR disagreed with the report, claiming the cars could not run with less than 6 kg of fuel, therefore that pushed them over the minimum weight. They also claimed that they thought the rules applied to race weight, not post-race scrutineering. The FIA responded by banning the team from two races, including the Monaco Grand Prix. Jenson Button commentated for ITV F1’s broadcast of the Grand Prix. While initially intending to contest the disqualification, BAR ultimately decided against it. Max Mosley wanted to have the team disqualified from the entire season.
The team also did not start the United States Grand Prix as the team was asked by tyre supplier Michelin to withdraw from the race due to tyre problems affecting all Michelin-based teams. At this point, BAR had not scored a point in the championship.
Sponsorship and livery
BAR used the Lucky Strike logos, except in countries that had a ban on tobacco advertising – Canada, the United States, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Italy, and Belgium. In China, it had 555 logos on the car in place of Lucky Strike.
BAR 007B
A B version of the 007 was used to test the 2006 Honda RA806E V8 engine, driven by Anthony Davidson.
Speed record attempt
On 21 July 2006, a BAR 007 was used to achieve a top speed of 397.481 km/h (246.983 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, driven by Alan van der Merwe.
This article is based solely on the provided corpus: a Wikipedia article on the BAR 007. No external sources, including primary archives, autobiographies, period programmes, or specialist publications, were consulted.
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