Willis Targeting Podium Places in 2003

BAR technical director Geoff Willis is confident the new Honda-powered 005 will allow the Brackley-based outfit to fight for podium finishes in 2003.

Willis, one of the most respected aerodynamicists in Formula One, joined BAR at the start of the 2002 season after leaving the Williams team.

Willis has overseen the design and manufacture of the 005, which was unveiled today at the Barcelona circuit, and he believes the new machine has the potential to fight for the top three next season.

"We want to compete for the top three positions in 2003," said Willis. "Our target is to finish every race; regularly being in the Championship points and being on the podium as often as we can. We are very confident it's going to be a substantially better car and a substantially better package of engine and chassis together.

"We have set new performance targets when designing the car for weight reduction, stiffness, aerodynamic affiance and engine performance all aimed at helping us to compete with those cars at the front of the grid."

Apart from supervising the design of the new car, Willis has restructured the team's technical department, integrating all the available resources from BAR and engine suppliers Honda.

"We have made some significant changes to the organisation; we have been recruiting new people and setting much higher targets," he added. "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."