BAR launch: Designer targets top teams

"We want to compete for the top three positions in 2003," said Willis at the car's launch in Barcelona. "Our target is to finish every race - regularly being in the championship points and being on the podium as often as we can."

Compared to the 004, the new BAR Honda 005 is significantly smaller, lighter, has a lower centre of gravity and is more aerodynamically efficient than its predecessor.

"We are very confident it's going to be a substantially better car and a substantially better package of engine and chassis together," said Willis. "We have set new performance targets when designing the car for weight reduction, stiffness, aerodynamic efficiency and engine performance all aimed at helping us to compete with those at the front of the grid."

The 005 is the product of a completely revised design philosophy and process, the results of which start with the chassis. It is constructed using a different concept to previous BARs, with new internal bulkheads making the car substantially lighter while maintaining the required design stiffness and meeting FIA crash test requirements.

The gearbox is new. The casing is now an aluminium investment-casting and uses Xtrac internals. The revised suspension layout is more compact than before with lay-down torsion springs while the fuel and cooling systems have been refined. The number of parts used is reduced by 10 per cent and the team has reassessed the way it manufactures components in order to make use of lighter materials.

"We have made some significant changes to the organisation," said Willis of the new philosophy that he has instilled in the design team. "We have been recruiting new people and setting much higher targets.

"We have also driven to properly integrate all the resources we have available to us including those at Honda. We are now all very excited and looking forward to the new season."