Richards Relies on Honda Partnership to Start Winning

British American Racing boss David Richards says a close co-operation with engine provider Honda is the only way for the Brackley-based squad to start winning races, although the Scot claims his team will not start challenging for victories until 2003.

Richards joined British American Racing at the end of last year, replacing Craig Pollock at the helm of the squad, and is now the man in charge of taking BAR to the top after three disappointing seasons in Formula One.

2002 will be their third year of partnership with Japanese giant Honda, and Richards is relying on them to win races next season and challenge for the Championship in 2004.

"It will be a couple of years before we have all the ingredients in place to consistently beat the top teams," said Richards. "It is too early to say exactly how we will perform this year but it is our clear objective to demonstrate that we can compete effectively against the top three teams.

"As we strengthen our resources, I would hope to begin battling for wins next year, and to be a title contender in 2004. The only way that we will achieve these ambitious objectives is with a close co-operation with Honda.

"They share our vision for the future and we are jointly pushing ourselves to the limit. The fruits of our collaboration will become more apparent as the year progresses."

Honda, who have scored 71 Grand Prix wins as an engine provider, also supply their units to the Jordan team, who finished ahead of BAR in last year's Constructors' Championship.