Brawn: Honda Should Focus on One Team

Honda, engine partners to Jordan and BAR, need to concentrate on one team if they are to be successful, according to Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn.

Neither British American Racing nor Jordan have scored a point this season, and paddock whispers suggest Honda are thinking of abandoning Jordan, whose deal covers next season, to form closer ties with BAR.

"I think Honda really need to bite the bullet and become as one with a team if they are going to achieve the success they had in the past," Brawn told a news conference at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday.

"It's clear that successful teams in Formula One, and Renault have taken that route now, have to be one entity. They have to be as one, the chassis and the engine.

"I always felt that was one of the potential strengths of Ferrari...For me the car is a car, it's not an engine, it's not a chassis, it's a car. I think that Honda have to look at working like that if they're going to be successful."

Ferrari make their own chassis and engine, something that Renault and Toyota also do, while Jaguar and their supplier Cosworth are both owned by Ford. McLaren and Williams have exclusive arrangements with Mercedes and BMW respectively and both sides work closely on an integrated package.

Honda, who had considerable success as an engine supplier and last won a race with Austrian Gerhard Berger in a McLaren in 1992, abandoned plans to start up their own team in 1999.

Jordan used Mugen-Honda engines from 1998 to 2000 and then secured a deal for works engines after Honda returned to the sport as a supplier to BAR in 2000.

"If there was an area that you could criticise of their approach, it's the fact that they still look like an engine supplier as opposed to a partner," Brawn said of the Japanese manufacturer's strategy.

"In my view, they need to get together with a team and become one entity. We supply Sauber on a customer basis, we do as much for them as we can but it has no effect on our main Formula One effort apart from providing some extra budget."