Q&A: Nick Fry - EXCLUSIVE.

by Russell Atkins

Honda is hoping the bold new livery adorning its RA107 challenger will be a precursor to a leap up the grand prix pecking order in 2007, on the back of what was a solid if unspectacular 2006. Nick Fry is the man charged with taking the team to the top.

The 50-year-old took over the role as Honda CEO in 2004, and last year reaped the rewards of his and the team's hard work by seeing Jenson Button take the chequered flag for the Japanese marque's first Formula 1 success since 1992. Here he tells us how, despite a quiet start in testing so far, he foresees even bigger and better things ahead during the forthcoming campaign...

Q:
Nick, first of all how excited are you about the year ahead?

Nick Fry:
Extremely excited. I think this time of the year is always one when every team is full of anticipation and a little bit of concern as well. You do the best you can during the winter season, but obviously no one really knows where they are until we get into the competitive situation in Melbourne, so it's always a combination of excitement mixed with a little bit of trepidation.

Q:
You mentioned concern. One thing some people have been saying is the new RA107 has not shown the out-and-out pace of some of its rivals in pre-season testing. How is everything going from your point-of-view?

NF:
I think there are two things I would say. Firstly, our development strategy for this season is almost the reverse of last year's. Then we started with a car that had all the correct bits on it; it was very fast but frankly we didn't develop it as well as we should have done between its introduction in January and Melbourne. This year we decided to turn that strategy on its head and introduce a car that didn't have many of the 2007 parts on it. It had the fundamental chassis obviously, but aerodynamically it was not as well-developed as it might have been. We really only started to add the 2007 aerodynamic components in Bahrain last week, and the effect was there for people to see. Jenson was third-fastest on two separate days which was good. I think our short runs - or qualifying pace - are reasonably good. The area in which we have still undoubtedly got more work to do is on the long-run pace. I would say at the moment we are at least half a second off the front-runners there.

Q:
You unveiled a striking new livery for the RA107 today, which represents quite a bold departure from previous years. What inspired it?

NF:
Our idea was really to advertise environmental awareness, and there's a whole bunch of different things which have come together. Firstly, Formula 1 is going in a more environmentally-friendly direction. 2009 will see the introduction of energy recovery systems, with more developments in 2010 and more still in 2011. When we started looking at this at the beginning of last year it was clear the environment was a rising concern on everyone's mind, and it's also something which is very close to the heart of Honda. Honda is the company that produced the first hybrid vehicle in Europe and North America. It's going to introduce a fuel cell vehicle next year; it's got a solar panel company; and as 100 per cent owners of the team Honda wanted to use the car to actually advertise something rather different, something with a bigger cause. The whole idea is really a number of things all come together.

Q:
On the driving front Jenson finally achieved his maiden win in Formula 1 last year, what must have been a particularly emotional moment for you. How much did that buoy him, and how confident are you he can now build on that in 2007 and go on to further success?

NF:
We're very confident. Jenson is undoubtedly one of the top three drivers in Formula 1. His skill level is incredibly high; we've just got to provide him with a car that's up to the job. What we have introduced is a car that is in many ways quite radical, and under the skin it has a very high level of change compared to last year. I don't think there is anything on the car that's the same as it was; it's been significantly redesigned in terms of the cooling pack, exhaust system, weight distribution, wheelbase - even the steering wheel is very different to last year, and that all gives us a huge opportunity through the year to develop the car. At the moment we are probably not getting the best out of it, but I'm quite confident the car is not only quicker today than last year's car, but also that it has the ability to be developed through the season.

Q:
It's often been said once a driver has broken his duck in Formula 1, he then finds it much easier to go on and score more wins. Did you notice any marked change in Jenson once he got that first victory under his belt?

NF:
I think for both the driver and the team there is a change. It's very small, but in Formula 1 every tiny change makes a big difference. Just that extra little bit of confidence in Jenson and in the whole team made a big difference, and to get the 'has he won yet?' off our back has been something of a relief.

Q:
Rubens last year struggled initially to adapt to the car, but then came on stronger and stronger as the season progressed. How much more settled is he inside the team now?

NF:
Rubens was settled in himself from the start, but in a new Formula 1 team there are many things to learn. In some cases Rubens has been the person teaching us, because he has a lot more experience of Formula 1 than what was BAR and now the Honda team has. He has made an immense contribution in terms of helping us with our traction control and braking system, but at the end of the day he wants to win races and I think this year he is better-prepared for that than he has ever been in the past.

Q:
Talking of contributions, what has Christian Klien brought to the team in the role of third driver?

NF:
Christian has done a spectacular job. Obviously we had seen him working for his prior team, but we didn't know him very much as a person before. I think the things he has excelled at are fitting into the team, and the quality of his feedback has been very good. We can put Christian in the car and the feedback we will get is very similar to that of Jenson or Rubens. The third thing is he has been both fast and reliable. He had not made any mistakes, and just one crash in testing can put a team back quite a lot because you have to replace the parts damaged in the crash. Having someone who can both go fast and do so reliably is a big asset.

Q:
So with all that taken into consideration, what would you say are your aims and objectives, initially for Melbourne and then ultimately for the season as a whole?

NF:
We will go to Melbourne hoping to come home with both cars in the points. Realistically, from where we are at the moment I think we would be lucky to win there, but I absolutely believe the car has the potential during the course of the year. We have to consider this as a war, not just one battle. Melbourne is the first battle. We probably won't win that one, but we are not too perturbed about that. We have a car which we can continue to develop and there will be many opportunities for that. I'm confident this car is a winner.