Formula One: Death Of a Dream In The Piranha Club

Jordan, Matra, Simtek, Stewart, Wolf, Tyrell, Surtees, Prost, Minardi, March; the list could go on for pages.  Teams such as this have been linked by their common history as privateer teams entered into the largest Piranha tank.  That list of teams left behind by the passage of time has now a new member, Super Aguri.

Outside of Super Aguri no tears will be shed by the passing of this small team, however their presence and good character will be missed in the ever shrinking paddock.  Historians will record Tuesday, May 6^th, 2008, as the conclusion of a dream and the end to the hope for a nation of millions.  The end did not come on that May morning, however.  Super Aguri’s future was doomed far earlier than the Wednesday before the Turkish Grand Prix, or the day that word broke the team’s trucks were not allowed onto the grounds of the Istanbul Circuit, or even before the start of the Australian Grand Prix. 

Super Aguri’s end can be traced back to the 2007 season.  Having competed with an antiquated SA06 the year before Super Aguri was getting ready to make a big splash in ’07 with their modern and “new” chassis in 2007.

F1 experts and fans will recall the first Aguri chassis, the SA05, entered by Aguri for the 2006 season.  Even with the updates the car was simply a pig to drive, and quite a few drivers would complain about the moving pylon on the track.  The SA05 and the SA06 that followed approximately midway through the season, were both rebadged and updated Arrows A23 chassis from the 2002 season.  Nevertheless the team seemed to attract the attention and the fan base, and a dream that first started as a way for Honda to save face following the letting go of Sato was something of an anomaly.   

As 2006 season drew to a close the F1 fraternity was looking at a certain rule contained in the technical and sporting regulations, and this rule was directly related to Aguri, Honda, and the plans for the little outfit’s 2007 campaign.  Both Williams and Spyker were concerned of the chassis sharing as they called it, or customer cars as the FIA termed them. 

“I am adamantly opposed to chassis sharing,” Frank Williams stated. “We at Williams do not believe it is legal under the current rules. We are what you might call a traditionalist racing team which believes that we are out there competing for two world championships - one for the best driver in the world and one for the constructor who builds the best car in the world. As far as I’m concerned it is absolutely in the regulations in black and white that every team must make its own chassis.”

While Frank Williams’ point was a valid one Toro Rosso and Super Aguri were in fact following the FIA rules which clearly allowed them to enter customer cars as long as the cars are designed by a third party. 

Honda, the parent company of Super Aguri had relied on the expertise of a third party to develop the RA106 chassis, and their claim was that as a result the intellectual property did not belong to the Honda Racing team.  The rule in question by supporting and opposing parties was Schedule 3:  A constructor is a person (including any incorporated or unincorporated body) who owns the intellectual property rights to the rolling chassis it currently races, and does not incorporate in such chassis any part designed or manufactured by any other constructor of F1 racing cars except for standard items of safety equipment, providing that nothing in the Schedule 3 shall prevent the use of an engine or gearbox manufactured by a person other than the constructor of the chassis.

The car that Super Aguri entered in the 2007 season, the SA07, was in fact a re-badged RA106 chassis from the year before, but as Honda and Aguri both claimed it was not the intellectual property of Honda, but of a third party. 

While the solution was short term one, this decision to become competitive and break out of their designation as Honda’s B team was indeed one of the key strikes that cost Super Aguri their future.  Had Super Aguri decided to develop their own car instead of relying on a loophole that teams were challenging left and right, then the little squad may have been on the track.

As the 2007 season drew to a close the rules were being re-written once again; any teams entering the 2009 championship would have to be built and designed by the team and no third party designs would be permitted.  While these rules were set to apply to the 2009 entries and a full season lay ahead before their implementation, one does not design a car overnight, and if no funding does exist than one can not start the process.

The financing and sponsorship were not enough to keep the team afloat, and Aguri Suzuki decided in favour of euthanasia than prolonged suffering.  As the F1 fraternity looks ahead to the future some pose the question if Honda did enough for the team, and if all this could have been avoided. 

Month ago, when Williams first signed the engine deal with Toyota, a story was printed in the F1 Racing magazine that Toyota is planning to rebadge the engines sold to Williams to carry the name of Lexus. The rumour has seemingly died, but it brings on a curious question.  If Honda and Toyota are in direct competition with each other on track and off then why would Honda not choose to promote an alternative brand from their automobile manufacturing umbrella? 

When the US Grand Prix was terminated one of the biggest losses was cited as a loss of advertisement in one of the largest markets for automobile sales.  Regardless of that decision American fans flock to their televisions and across the border to Canada to watch the sport.  Would it not have been in Honda’s best interest to promote a luxury brand from their line of cars? 

Honda , the car giant is not a poor company, it has recorded sales of 1.38 billion yen in 2007.   And while 2007 sales plunged in comparison to the numbers of the year before a successful advertisement campaign such as fielding two teams representing the different lines of luxury could have resulted in a profit rise in the following year.  Unfortunately this decision was never taken, but it is possible that it may have been considered.

Super Aguri has stuck with Honda to the very end; however what if the parent company had given him the authority to shop in another market; as the idea of the Korean Grand Prix comes closer to becoming a reality it is possible that Hyundai would have been more than willing to buy into the team.  Volkswagen and Audi have voiced their opinions on avoiding the volatile sport, but there are more than enough car manufacturers who may consider taking a dip in the piranha bowl.

As the day draws to a close only Suzuki Aguri and Honda truly know if Honda truly helped or hindered them.  The details known to us are somewhat shady; we will never know why Magna group pulled the plug on the deal, nor what constituted Honda’s decision not to accept the Weigl offer.

Some will argue that Super Aguri’s performances that often shamed the factory team led to a no love lost scenario and that it was in Honda’s best interests to see Aguri off the grid.  Others will simply say that without true sponsorship backing and lack of proper structure necessary to commence the manufacture and design of an in house chassis, the program was set to fail from the get go.  Both arguments could be seen as valid, however the truth of the matter will not save Super Best Friends.

As the season rolls on without the participation of the 11^th team, its passing marks another chapter in the ever evolving saga of F1.  Super Aguri’s presence reminded the Formula 1 fraternity of a time gone by, of days when this was not a business but a gentleman’s sport, when winning was not enough, and some were more concerned about looking classy and having fun rather than achieving victory for profit.  Where Red Bull has drifted away from the party life and matured Super Aguri reminded us that a smile is often enough.  Super Aguri was a team full of nice people, but also people dedicated to succeeding at all costs, and scaling the tallest mountain with the shortest rope.   

While their demise may have brought tears to the founder, one can not help but feel sadness for the piloti, the drivers of Super Aguri.  Few will forget Takuma Sato’s passing manoeuvre on Fernando Alonso at the Montreal Grand Prix in 2007.  Young Sato accomplished a feat that sometimes Michael Schumacher failed to.  Takuma wasn’t always as graceful as on that Canadian afternoon, but he did have his moments.  The young Japanese may have understood that the team only existed for him as a result of the Japanese people’s outcry, but to Anthony Davidson this was the first regular drive in F1 which is now a thing of the past.    

While Takuma may have once driven on a regular basis for a top team Anthony Davidson has been denied that opportunity time after time.  The young Briton has almost been forgotten by the F1 fraternity enchanted by the likes of Lewis Hamilton.  Jackie Stewart called Jenson Button a Briton forgotten by a nation now completely in love with Lewis Hamilton, but it is Anthony Davidson that has truly been pushed aside.

Regardless how one looks at the sad story, Aguri’s history of successes and failures can be used as a teaching tool for future newcomers.  Yet will anyone be willing to step up to the plate?  F1 now requires new teams to pay a $48 million for entry, design your own car, and pry existing sponsors away from other teams or find sponsors willing to pay the promised money through the entire season.  Finally as a new team on the block you must be able to survive in the environment lovingly called the piranha club. 

Super Aguri achieved quite a bit in its short life span, but sadly it was not enough.  As much work as may have been put into the operation, in the end it was not enough.  How much would have been sufficient, however, when even your single parent was expecting you to fail?