Honda

Oh my…. What a season. This is a team that under its old identity BAR Honda finished 2nd in the constructors table in 2004. This is the team that recorded its first race win in 2006. This the team who’s driver Jenson Button finished 3rd in driver’s table in 2004 and scored more points than any other driver in the second half of 2006 season… They hoped for further step up in 2007, if not for a title fight than at least few more race wins… To promote enviromental issues they entered the season with an unique Earth livery, with no sponsors messages on the car. The weight of the whole Earth was apparently too much for them to carry …

The Australian Grand Prix was an eye opener. The Honda cars were solid midfield cars, far behind the leading Ferraris and McLarens. Both cars finished lap down, barely getting out of Q1. The pattern for the rest of the season has been set. The 3 week break before Malaysian GP did not help them much, more the opposite. By the Malaysian GP the main competion for Honda began to appear - Toro Rosso, Spyker, Super Aguri and Ralf Schumacher. Getting to top ten in 2007 meant to the team about the same as getting on podium in 2006. Scoring points in 2007 was on par with race win a year ago. Podiums and wins were totally out the reach for Honda. On several ocassion Honda was outperformed by their baby team Super Aguri, racing more less the 2006 Honda car. That was the clear indication of how bad the 2007 Honda car, the RA107 was.

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F1Wolf

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Toyota

The fact that these 2 teams are neighbors in the constructors table with only 5 points separating them is not exactly a sign of money well spent in Toyota… Toyota scored points in only 7 out of 17 races in 2007 and their greatest point tally from a race was 3. They had 5 races pointless streak from Turkey to China.

Their start to the season was not that bad. Both their cars qualified in top 10 and scored their first point right away with Ralf at 8th, just ahead of Trulli. Jarno Trulli went 1 place better in the next 2 races. After three races Toyota were 5th in the constructors table with 5 points, but the performance slump of Ralf Schumacher was well under way already. It became even more apparent in Spain where Trulli qualified at 6th while Ralf Schumacher at 17. Both cars retired from the race.
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F1Wolf

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Williams

After their disastrous 2006 season many people (me included) said, that this year will be the make or break one for the Williams team. The danger of taking the Jordan route after Honda deserted them was definitelly real. They however managed to turn the things around. Toyota power replacing the Cosworth engine was an important step. Not that Cosworth V8 was a bad engine, but financial side of the deal with Toyota was definitelly much sweeter for Williams than buying engines off Cosworth… On top of that the team secured the title sponsor AT&T, without even giving them the most lucrative place on the car. That went to another major new sponsor - Lenovo. Mark Webber left and Alex Wurz was promoted from testing duties to a race seat alongside Nico Rosberg. Their winter testing form was promising, things did not look too bad for Williams ahead of 2007 season.

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F1Wolf

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BMW Sauber

BMW Sauber team surprised many this year and claimed the best of the rest title. After the exclusion McLaren exclusion that meant no 2 in costructors table.

They declared ther intentions right at the race 1 in Melbourne. Nick Heidfeld finished in strong 4th place, well clear ahead of Renaults. Kubica however suffered from their early season reliability issues and did not make it to the chequered flag. In the next race in Malaysia, Nick Heidfeld found himself ahead of Felipe Massa after Massa’s failed attempt to overtake Alonso. He managed to keep Massa behind and claimed the second 4th place in a row. Kubica again suffered car problems and finished way down the field and outside the points.

It took 3 races, but after Bahrain Kubica also had points under his belt for 6th place. However the way Heidfeld overtook Alonso and kept him in bay counts as one my highlights of 2007 season. Third 4th place in a row for Heidfeld. By now BMW Sauber were clearly established as 3rd best team.

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F1Wolf

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Two weeks have passed since the last race of the season. I find this to be the right time to begin with the series of season review posts. The first 5 parts will focus on the teams. Several “Top Of The 2007 Season” posts will follow.

Part one will focus on the top 2 teams of the 2007 season Ferrari and McLaren. I still consider McLaren to be a top 2 team regardless their zero point tally…

Ferrari

Ferrari entered the 2007 season with all new set up. The most significant changes were the absence of retired Michael Schumacher and the departure of Ross Brawn. Kimi Raikkonen was brought in to replace the 7 time wolrd champion. Felipe Massa and Jean Todt represented the continuity of the old Ferrari. Even as many had wondered how all the changes will affect the teams performances, they were still considered one of the favourites for the 2007 titles following the strong winter testing season. Their experience with the Bridgestone tyres (although totally different Bridgestone tyres) was also considered a significant advantage.

The team brought a brand new car - the long wheel base F2007 - quite a different car from its predecessor 248 F1. The new package proved to be an instant success (well, almost). Kimi Raikkonen won the opening race from the pole, claiming the fastest lap as well. His first race for Ferrari and hattrick right away. However a major weakness of the new Ferrari package was exposed in the first race as well - reliability.

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F1Wolf

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