Absolute Beginners

When Takuma Sato spilled the beans on a new Honda-backed team set to make its debut in 2006, nobody believed it would happen. Even BAR-Honda boss Nick Fry seemed a little surprised by the whole thing and most paddock insiders thought it would simply be too much to create a new team from scratch in the six months between early October and early March. But against all odds, Super Aguri are getting close to doing just that.

The last fully new team to enter the sport was Toyota, back in 2002, and they did so with the mighty financial backing of a motoring giant and a full season of testing behind them. Super Aguri, in contrast, have bought up some old cars designed by a now-bankrupt team and although they may have secured sponsorship and an engine from Honda, their plans are far from tried and tested as the new season races ever faster towards them.

Their attempts to get on the grid have already stalled twice, first when it was confirmed by the FIA that they would not be able to buy second-hand BAR chassis to run and secondly when they failed to come up with the $48 million (USD) bond in time to make the official 2006 Formula One entry list. But a surprising collaboration between the ten teams currently on the grid to vote through Aguri's entry, their debut now seems virtually guaranteed.

Led by former Formula One racer Aguri Suzuki, the team now faces a race against time to avoid embarrassment in Bahrain in a little more than seven weeks' time. But Paul Stoddart - the man who sold them the ex-Arrows chassis he bought when the receivers were selling off everything involved with the sunken outfit and the man who turned around Minardi in six weeks to get them on the grid after buying the team in 2001 - is confident it can be done.

"I am sure they will be fine," said Stoddart. "From a car point of view, they have got a fantastic head start by buying the old Arrows from me and I am sure they will be there, but when they arrive in Bahrain they will know they have been through it. They have a lot of the ex-Arrows boys back and they have recruited from other teams, so my money is on them getting one car home at the first race in Bahrain, although it will be lapped. But, really, you can't yet put odds on how they will do."

Stoddart knows only too well how much work the team has to do before they head off to Bahrain for the opening race of the season, as when he took over Minardi he had the shell of a team and had a fight on his hands to debut on time. And, he says, Super Aguri are in an even worse position.

"We had six weeks and three days to get two cars ready for Melbourne when all we had was a mock-up with a working engine in Faenza that was created when Supertec had looked at buying the company," said Stoddart. "We have helped them by about 50 to 60 percent but they still have a lot of work to do because there is so much to organise to get yourself on the grid and they will have to present a professional front.

"They seem to have the budget, but the logistics are important, and logistics is a wide, wide word. They will be organising freight, hotels, flights, and because they don't get the travel or freight allowance [from FOM], they will have to pay for every kilogram they take to the fly-away races by themselves, so they will have to make sure what they take is sensible and that they get their flight cases made in time.

"They have to strengthen their pit equipment because we sold and loaned them some of that but there are still some things they do not have. Then there are the little but important things like team clothing, race suits, and whether they are going to be embroidered or have patches. That is always a nightmare! It is all made in the Far East and there is this holiday and that holiday and it always seems to be that they occur when you need the things made.

"There are loads of pitfalls, which collectively I call the fuck-up factor. They will have to deal with being at the end of the pitlane, and being the 11th team will be harder. It will be okay in Bahrain and Malaysia, because they are two new and well-built facilities, but Australia will have to build new garages for them. In the past, when there were 11 teams, certain individual teams were not getting the extra garages, now I am not sure that would happen."

Logistics are one thing, but people are another, and there are many case histories in Formula One that prove just how important it is to have a good, well-gelled team. Gone are the days of 1991, when teams like Jordan could enter with a handful of people and do a good job. These days, Formula One teams can barely exist with less than 100 people, a milestone that Eddie Jordan once said when reached would make him leave his team - until he realised the way the sport was headed.

Super Aguri have been recruiting fast and, after setting up base at the old Arrows site in Leafield, they have brought in many people who were left high and dry when that team went under. Many of them have worked together, which is a bonus, but even so it will still take a long time for them to gel even to the level that Minardi was when Stoddart took over, let alone the level that Jaguar was at when Red Bull took over last year.

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner explains: "It is a people sport at the end of the day and you cannot get a big group of people together quickly, it takes time. That was one of the benefits of buying Jaguar, which came out of Stewart and had gelled over a period of time. We just had to bring the whole thing together and address a few personnel. Putting good people together is hard because good people tend to be looked after and are not readily available on the market.

"Our set-up is very different to theirs. They are starting with a clean sheet of paper. Red Bull took over a going concern and that is the biggest difference. The biggest thing for us was the re-branding, as Red Bull Racing had a totally different ethos to Jaguar Racing so that was a big change, but overall I think it is healthy for Formula One that it looks like there will be a new team.

"There are a lot of Formula One people around and Super Aguri are in motorsport valley so that will be good for them, but it rarely works overnight. Be it a former GP2 team or a Formula One team, it takes time to get the stability and continuity for teams and that is why teams like Williams and McLaren are so strong. I do think it is going to be a bit of a challenge for them and a lot of work."

Stoddart adds: "When BAR and Toyota first started, things did not go perfectly even though they had talented individuals and a good group of people. When I took over Minardi the team was pretty depleted and a lot of good people had left because they were not sure of the future, but we still had a fully gelled workforce we could throw straight at it. Super Aguri are different and I am not sure how many people they have in each of the areas they need."

Back in October 2005 in Japan, when the mutterings about the new mystery team first wisped around the paddock, Stoddart stood under shelter from the rain and aired his views. A man with full working knowledge of the Concorde Agreement, he quickly rubbished claims that they could run old BAR chassis in 2006 and noted, with a smirk, that he may have some cars in his garage back home that could help them out.

Stoddart had held an auction that September, which he declared would offer "the final opportunity to purchase the former Arrows Formula One equipment in a public sale", but the A23 cars, three of which were up for bidding, did not sell and he was also left with many other items, including pit equipment. Just a couple of months later, the canny Australian got his deal when he sold the cars for an estimated £1 million (GBP).

Recalling that conversation in Japan with a chuckle, Stoddart admits: "I thought the cars might run in Formula One again when I bought them, but I never even thought of this until around that time. We had got them upgraded in 2003 and I definitely thought they would form the basis of the 2004 Minardi because when we did back-to-back tests it was faster than our car at the time.

"The only reason we did not pursue it was it was a very complex car and would have been very expensive to manufacture. Our guys knew our car but Aguri have so many ex-Arrows guys there they probably don't see it as complex and it won't be a problem. I sold them at a very sensible price to help get the team going. They got a lot of stuff from me, we had four 40ft long lorries to take all the stuff there and they got so much extra the cars were virtually free."

Since Stoddart threw his Arrows machines into the hat, the new recruits have all been hard at work behind the scenes in Leafield in an effort to get them race ready and compliant to all the FIA's crash tests and eligibility rules, as well as to fit in the Honda V8 engine into a hole originally built for a Cosworth V10. But Stoddart believes their decision to run that engine will cause them problems in the opening races.

"You have to have done the FIA tests but that won't be an issue, we have looked at them and the Arrows will pass the crash test and the other FIA legitimacy tests," says Stoddart. "It is how the car runs, how the engine marries into the gearbox and the chassis, that is important for the first race and now they have chosen to put a new engine in it then they will have to do more chassis and aero upgrades.

"The opening races will be hot and it is important to get the cooling mated with the new engine installation, we had problems and it can happen. They are a bit in the dark about all that so they will want to have tested that somewhere before taking it out on track in a competitive, high-speed environment. It is not a requirement, they can run having not tested it, but I would want to test it and I don't know if they will have the chance.

"We ran the car for the last time at Mugello in late Summer 2003, it was maybe one or two tenths quicker than our car then but it wasn't developed. It was designed originally with no money and it had so much potential. The Jordan is not new, it is developed from that vintage, and the 04 Minardi. But I would have gone for running a V10, and I urged them to do that, because that could have evened things out a bit for them."

Not only are the team trying to run the old Arrows machines, they are also trying to produce an all-new machine to run in one of the first European race of the season, something that will bring up a whole new set of challenges for the technical team. "Again, it is doable and launching it in Europe gives them an extra six weeks," says Stoddart. "If they have the resources, which it seems they do, then that should be possible, but there are few hurdles.

"We helped them by kitting out the old Arrows facility and providing the cars but with a new car there are unavoidable lead times that they will come up against. There are certain items that you need and it doesn't matter how quickly you need them, you will have to wait. If you order a cast titanium gearbox, for example, then to get six casings, which is the minimum you would need to go racing with, it would take 16 weeks to order.

"There are parts from the fuel cell manufacturers, and radiators, lots of component parts that are taken as a given normally because they are ordered well in advance. It will be pot luck, but what tends to happen is that if the company gets a lot of work from a team then they will get a preference, so Aguri could probably use their contacts with Honda to help them out in that area.

"They will get help from Honda, of course, and that will be a huge advantage, but the new car is going to have to be very different to anything that BAR produced in the past, the risk at the moment is too great to do otherwise. And they have also got to get trucks and motorhomes by the European races. Maybe they can get them second hand, but if they don't then coachbuilders will take forever and stupid things like motorhomes can be a bloody nightmare."

It has been strongly claimed by sources inside the sport that there is no way Super Aguri would have been allowed onto the grid without committing for the long term, something that suggests they have already signed up to race in Formula One beyond the end of the Concorde Agreement in 2007. With their links at Honda, that suggests they, too, may be ready to break from the GPMA and commit to the current series and that could bring everything back together again.

The political wheels that enabled Suzuki to get his team on the grid could end up being some of the most vital in recent history, and Stoddart adds: "The fact that Bernie [Ecclestone] got the signatures to allow them to run is very, very significant. It is a major change and I can categorically say that would not have happened last year. Let's just say I have no doubt in my mind that things are changing.

"The manufacturers have got what they wanted. It is pretty clear to most that what the GPMA stood for was right, but did they get enough? They asked for no competition bias, fair representation, an equal distribution of wealth and a much fairer way for the rules to be made. They have a better deal from Bernie but have they got better regulations and a better deal from the FIA? Possibly not, but we will have a united Formula One."

The fact that Super Aguri have Honda backing and have had to ask the powers that be to seek special permission from the other ten teams on the grid could, however, turn out to be a nightmare for team boss Suzuki himself, as he will be plunged into the infamous 'Piranha Club' already having a history at a time when the political situation around the future of the Formula One World Championship in its current guise is balanced on a knife-edge.

When Craig Pollock brought British American Racing into Formula One in 1999 he did so having bought out the popular Tyrrell squad and brought in a mighty Tobacco manufacturer with what was back then a significant amount of money. His arrival was not smooth, especially after other members of the team boasted about their potential performance before even hitting the track, and he is now quick to warn Suzuki to watch out.

"We got a very cold reception from the other teams when we set up BAR because we went in and bought out an old timer in the Tyrrell team and then established our team using Tobacco money," said Pollock. "On top of that, there was the fact that I was inexperienced in the business in their eyes! But it is not actually too difficult to fit into the group, you just have to be willing to wait and take your time before trying to reinvent the wheel."

Stoddart, too, learned the hard way. He became famed for his sharp lip and outspoken nature but, looking back, he utters a raucous laugh when forced to admit he had tried to run before he could walk. "I definitely learned the hard way! I didn't get my spurs until Friday 13th (in Canada, when he stood up to his fellow team bosses in a monumental press conference in a desperate attempt to save his team).

"To be fair they are mostly fairly cordial. I knew a few of them already, as Aguri will do, but there were some who thought I shouldn't be there, some who thought it was good to see Minardi kept going, and some who thought I had no credibility and I was just off my fucking head. You have to earn respect, it is not just given out.

"The other problem Aguri has is, there is a trend for drivers not to last very long in that role and he has to prove to everyone that he is not like that. I wish him so much luck it is not funny, but it is not going to be easy for him and he will be like a lamb to the slaughter. You need to know when to speak and when to keep your mouth shut and only then can you earn your spurs. I would have me do it for him. That, honestly, is the best thing to do."

There are, indeed, so many things to think about that Suzuki will need some people with good experience in Formula One to help him along his way, but according to reports he has plenty of helping hands at Honda, and Stoddart's Arrows cars should have given him the assistance he needed to get the team onto the grid in time for the first race of the year. Now it just remains to be seen how competitive the team can really be.

Pollock, who was eventually ousted from the helm at BAR by David Richards in 2002 and has been linked with failed buyouts at Arrows and Jordan since then, says: "At this moment in time it could go okay for them, but it is difficult to draw a real opinion on how they will do and I think that we will only be able to give a true verdict of their chances when they provide further input on the goals of the team.

"Obtaining the short-term funds to enable the team stay at least where they are on the grid is one of the biggest challenges that faces a new operation and it is important to also have the long-term funds to improve and climb up the order. We will have to see whether they have that or not, but, to be honest, you would have to say that they will start around the GP2 level if they are lucky."

Stoddart, who left his Minardi team after selling up to Red Bull at the end of last year, adds: "I think it is definitely good for Formula One, and now they just need a team 12 to complete the pack. Aguri are not going to set the world on fire but I wouldn't bet against them beating that new MF1 - and I mean, what a fucking name, by the way, MFI? You can see the jokes coming on that one already! - I would not be surprised at all if they beat them."

But one of the men who will be competing against the Super Aguri squad next year, Horner, who himself looked at entering his Arden team a year ago when the possibility of running customer chassis looked to be on the horizon, is holding out before he makes his predictions. "Obviously the timescale they have undertaken will no doubt have been difficult and I think that for them to simply be on the grid and operational for the opening race will be a result for them," he says.

"When I looked at coming in with Arden it was for a different set of proposed regulations to those that we have now. It was for just a race team. A Formula One team has a huge amount involved and it is a people sport down to quality. I am sure they have done their sums and I am sure they will go into it knowing what they are doing. Aguri has run teams in the past and so he is pretty experienced, but you have to earn respect in Formula One. It is not what you say, it is what you do."

October 4 - BAR driver Takuma Sato reveals he is in talks with a mystery 11th team over a drive in 2006. Honda is rumoured to be backing the new team, while the FIA offers its blessing

October 8 - Paul Stoddart warns the new team they will not be able to run customer cars

October 24 - Plans for new team take a knock when the Formula One Commission rules out clone cars in 2006

November 1 - Aguri Suzuki reveals himself as being behind new team plans

Early November - A technical chief is appointed (former Arrows and McLaren engineer Mark Preston) and the team move into Leafield

November 23 - It is reported that the team could run old Arrows cars

December 1 - The 2006 Formula One entry list is released with no sign of Super Aguri

December 2 - Suzuki announces in Japan that the team will re-apply for a licence

December 12 - Sources reveal Midland (MF1) are trying to block the Super Aguri entry

December 14/15 - Toyota approve entry, Williams hold judgement and McLaren confirm they will not oppose it

December 20 - Honda reveals plans to 'sponsor' Super Aguri

December 21 - Super Aguri announce they have agreement from all teams for their late entry

January 5 - FIA confirms acceptance from teams and declare entry will be granted upon receipt of $48m bond

New F1 team performance

How the new outfits fared in the past 15 years

2005 - Red Bull Racing (developed from Jaguar Racing)

Taking over a going concern from Ford was the best way for Red Bull to enter the sport and, with some impressive financial backing and an experienced driver in David Coulthard, their debut season was a big surprise. Led by Christian Horner, who had experience with Arden in the lower formulae, and benefiting from the hard work of the Jaguar design team, Coulthard and teammate Christian Klien qualified fifth and sixth respectively for the opening race in Australia and finished fourth and seventh. The team led a race three times during the year and picked up an impressive 34 points to finish seventh in the Constructors' Championship.

2002 - Toyota (brand new team)

Toyota's arrival, the first all-new team since Stewart Grand Prix, was much heralded as they came with the biggest budget in Formula One and arrived after a season of testing, which included simulating full Grand Prix weekends in private, in 2001. But they arrived in a bad year, one where Ferrari were completely dominant and nobody else had a look in. They scored a point on their debut in Australia, with Mika Salo, and a point in the San Marino Grand Prix, again with Salo, but despite their backing that was all they collected in their first season. Two further seasons of struggle proved that it is harder than it seems to create a new team but they finally came good in 2005 when they scored their first podium and ended the season with 88 points and fourth place in the championship.

2002 - Renault (from Benetton)

Renault bought the Benetton team in 2000 and ran as Benetton in 2001, a Renault car in all but name. They suffered a disastrous year and claimed just 10 points, then entered officially with a Renault chassis in 2002. Running with Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button, they failed to get either car to the finish of their first race in Australia after qualifying seventh and 11th, but things improved and by the end of the season they had 23 points. Three years later, in 2005, they won the both championships, with Fernando Alonso.

2000 - Jaguar Racing (developed from Stewart Grand Prix)

Ford bought out Stewart in 1999 and decided to run under the Jaguar banner from 2000. They hired 1999 championship runner-up Eddie Irvine from Ferrari and made a high-profile debut with posters all around the streets of Melbourne but failed to get either car to the end. They finally posted a finish in the third race, where Irvine claimed seventh, then scored their first points with a fourth place for Irvine in Monaco, but that was their best effort of the year. Although they improved a bit each season, the continued management changes proved difficult and Ford finally gave up on the team in 2004, selling to Red Bull when the outfit was on the verge of being scrapped.

1999 - British American Racing (developed from Tyrrell)

British American Tobacco bought the long-running Tyrrell team for an estimated $26m (USD) to create their new outfit with Craig Pollock at the helm and his driver, former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, in the spotlight. The team, which ran with Mechacrome engines, were also part-owned by Reynard Racing Cars, but Adrian Reynard's brag that they would win their first race would come back and bite them.

They finished 10th and 11th on their debut in Australia and failed to score a single point in all 16 races, with their best finish a seventh place for Mika Salo in San Marino. They improved, and once a works deal with Honda was secured they rose up the grid, finishing second to Ferrari in the championship in 2004 but failing to live up to that in 2005 before being fully bought out by Honda and turned into Honda Racing for 2006.

1997 - Prost Grand Prix (developed from Ligier)

Taking over the Ligier team, former World Champion Alain Prost had a good base to work from and the debut season of Prost Grand Prix was an impressive success. Olivier Panis scored two points on their first race in Australia then came third at the following race in Brazil and second in Spain. Over their first year they claimed eight point-finishes and a total of 21 points, but that would be their best season and, after five years in the sport, the outfit collapsed when it went into liquidation in the winter break before the 2002 season.

1997 - Stewart Grand Prix (brand new team)

Following success in the lower formulae, former World Champion Jackie Stewart moved his team into Formula One with substantial assistance from Ford. The first race saw a ninth-place finish for Rubens Barrichello, then he secured a spectacular and emotional second-place finish in Monaco. That was the team's only score for the year but they went on to win one race, with Johnny Herbert, at the European Grand Prix in 1999, and secure a total of 47 points before selling up after three seasons to Jaguar Racing at the end of 1999.

1997 - Lola Formula One team (brand new team)

Lola did a deal with Mastercard to enter the sport in 1998 but were pushed to join one year early when their car was still in the early design stage. It was rushed through but finished qualifying for the first race in Australia some five seconds outside the 107 percent of pole required to get on the grid. The team collapsed before the next race in Brazil and never actually got onto the grid.

1995 - Forti Grand Prix (brand new team)

After a long period in the lower categories, culminating in a stint in Formula 3000, Forti moved into Formula One with backing from Pedro Diniz and his family. Diniz finished seventh in the team's debut race in Australia but there was little joy after that and there were just 13 more finishes between the two cars before the end of the year. Diniz left, taking the financial backing with him, and after some mysterious backroom struggles the team collapsed in 1996.

1994 - Pacific (brand new team, Reynard-built car)

Keith Wiggins had developed a good reputation in racing after running for many years in the lower formulae before he entered Pacific as a Formula One team. He aimed to enter in 1993 but could not find the funding so the team made their debut in 1994 but struggled to finish and scored no points. They continued for one more year before being folded.

1994 - Simtek (brand new team)

After creating an initial design for BMW in 1990, then supplying cars for the failed Andrea Moda team in 1992, the Nick Wirth owned outfit decided to enter their own team with backing from MTV and a driver line-up of Roland Ratzenberger and David Brabham. They got one car to 12th on their debut in Brazil but the season quickly turned to disaster when Ratzenberger was killed at Imola, his replacement Andrea Montermini was badly injured in a crash on his first flying lap, and Brabham rolled his car at Silverstone. They secured 12 finishes in total in their first season, scored no points and collapsed in the middle of 1995.

1993 - Sauber (brand new team)

Developed by Peter Sauber following a successful stint in sportscar racing with Mercedes, the Sauber Formula One team qualified an astonishing sixth and tenth on their debut in South Africa and saw one of the car driven by JJ Lehto finish in fifth place. They scored 16 points, scoring in six different races, to finish sixth in the championship. The team continued to run successfully with Ferrari engines before being sold to BMW during the 2005 season. The Sauber name will live on with BMW in 2006.

1992 - Andrea Moda (developed from Coloni)

Began the season with an old Coloni chassis from the previous year but was excluded from the first race in South Africa for failing to pay their deposit. They failed to enter the second race in Mexico then failed to qualify for the third in San Marino. Roberto Moreno finally got one of their cars into a race in Monaco but failed to finish and they then lost their engines for the Canadian Grand Prix when they failed to pay Judd, missed France when they got stuck in a blockade and continued to fail to qualify before the team owner Andrea Sassetti was arrested in Belgium and the team were finally turned away forever at the Italian Grand Prix.

1992 - Venturi (brand new team)

Set up again for Lamborghini, this team got both cars into the first race of the season and saw one finish 10th. But they finished just 10 races and scored one point, a sixth place for Bertrand Gachot in Monaco, during the season before collapsing after just one year in the sport.

1991 - Jordan (brand new team)

Created from the basis of Eddie Jordan's Formula 3000 team, the Jordan Formula One team was launched from a pit garage at a wintry Silverstone. The Gary Anderson-designed chassis proved a hit and although Andrea de Cesaris failed to qualify and Bertrand Gachot could finish only 10th in the opening race, the team finished the season with 13 points having also led a race and given Michael Schumacher his Grand Prix debut. They continued until last year and won a total of four races before they were taken over by Midland and re-named MF1 for 2006.

1991 - Modena (brand new team with Lamborghini)

Developed as a works Lamborghini project, the team began testing their chassis in mid-1990 but the project suffered from a lack of money, the car struggled to pre-qualify and despite a seventh-place finish in the opening race of the year in the United States with Nicola Larini, the team collapsed by the end of the season with just four race finishes and no points.

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