Despite some serious reservations regarding the safety and high cost of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System
(KERS), the hybrid system has received the green light for introduction into the 2009 Formula 1 season. After BMW and Renault had some, uh, issues with KERS, Renault called a meeting to discuss whether the new flywheel-based system should be postponed until 2010. BMW Sauber, Honda Racing and Williams are apparently feeling confident enough in their own systems to resist the delay. Because F1 rules dictate that a consensus must be reached to change the previous ruling, F1 cars in 2009 will run with the new drivetrain. The only thing which could still hold back the new technology would be if the teams were unable to guarantee the safety of their systems, and this seems unlikely given that Honda has already completed a successful track test last week.
Honda has a long history in grand prix racing. The sport's first Japanese team debuted with its own home-grown chassis and engine in 1964, taking its first victory in only its second year in Formula One at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. The original RA271 was replaced by the RA300 at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which John Surtees won on its maiden race. Honda withdrew from Formula One in 1969, supplied engines to various teams between 1983 and 1992 and again with British American Racing in 2000, which Honda had adopted as its own factory team by 2005 before winning the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Keen to highlight its rich heritage in Formula One, Honda came to the Geneva Motor Show with and old RA300 and its latest successor, the RA108. Compared to the 3-liter 420-hp V12 and 5-speed manual in the vintage RA300, the new RA108 is driven through a seven-speed sequential gearbox by a 2.4-liter V8 producing over 700 hp.
