EHS

From the German F1 web site:

http://www.f1total.com/news/06071705.shtml

Apparently one of the reasons that Willis was let go was because the boys at Honda's wind tunnel were having some brews while they cranked up the wind tunnel at 3:00 a.m. in the morning with an F1 mockup inside. 40 million euros later......

Don't have time to translate the whole thing, so here's the full Babelfish translation:

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With Honda an embittered struggle for power raves around control of the team behind the window blinds - achievements into running remain thereby on the distance


- Honda had the fastest car of the winter tests with the RA106 together with Renault, but from the last four races the Japanese carried away only three pathetic points. Thus the competitor of Toyota comes close to now only eleven points, although the archenemy from the homeland had a much worse starting point into the season.

Teamhead Fry showed his view of the crisis in Magny Cours with comments like "frustrated and disappointed", underlining however the "good atmosphere" in Brackley: "we sit all in the same boat, mutual accusations do not help us not." Button registered the bad cutting off meanwhile with a healthy portion of gallows humour: "I drove against three or four competitors, which made fun. Unfortunately that were not the three or four leading... "

Why can't Honda use resources?

How it can be that a team running with a budget of nearly 300 million euro - only Toyota and McLaren Mercedes spend still more per year - cannot go along with the development speed of the competition, although at the end of of May a new wind tunnel was taken in operation? The answer to it is simple: Honda concentrates momentarily too less on the own problems rather than on an internal conflict for power and on the competition.

Meant are the innuendoes against the BMW F1 team, because the campaign against the allegedly illegal tail wing of the F1.06 was plotted only and alone by Honda. With the North America running Charlie Whiting, the technical delegated one the FIA, which chassis of the BMW Sauber F1 team for express desire of Fry recently, left, because the Japanese would otherwise possibly have inserted protest.

Fry should rather brush before the own door because of an ugly fight for power with Otmar Szafnauer takes place team-internally between him and the vice-president of the Honda engine division.

Allegedly Szafnauer wants to take the control of the team, which seemed quite realistic, when the separating aerodynamicist Willem Toet before his leaving sent another Email to all team members, where Fry was bashed.

Fry parliamentary group fights against Szafnauer parliamentary group

Fry could maintain its position in the team however, because he can count on the support of team president Yasuhiro Wada and sport boss Gil de Ferran.

Insider have however the opinion that he would not bear a further attack. The only reason, why it is at all still in the office, is according to rumors the fact that Szafnauer drinks on running weekends gladly times over the thirst, which displeases the Japanese naturally.

Szafnauer is supported among other things by the Button side as well as by the executive committee, because one has the feeling in Japan that the Romanian is rather a Honda man as Fry, which is seen due to its Prodrive past as BAR-man.

In addition it comes that the Triumvirat Fry/Wada/de Ferran was team-internally made responsible for the weight affair by Imola 2005, which strikes some members of the board still on the stomach.

Willis dismissal did not come Fry convenient

Beyond that Fry was considered always as a proponent of the technique boss Geoff Willis dismissed in the meantime, which was always questioned because of the continuous unsuccessfulness despite its undisputed authority.

Willis was no longer portable when in the new wind tunnel a completely developed chassis was torn at an air flow speed of 300 km/h from the anchorage and s.c.r.a.p.p.e.d thereby. The incident, after which the 40 million euro expensive wind tunnel had to be shut down for one week because of repair work, involved an internal investigation, because rumors arose, according to which some coworkers of the responsible nightshift - the whole stuff happened at 3:00 o'clock in the morning - have been drunk. In the course of this investigation Willis was sacrificed when desired the executive committee in Japan, which weakened also Frys position.

It is interesting in this connection that Honda up to the Grand Prix of Monaco at the end of of May on course was sportily more or less full, then however suddenly broke in - just at that time, when the situation in Brackley began to escalate. Now it applies to only operate damage delimitation and to cleanly defend the fourth place in the technical designer valuation against Toyota and the BMW F1 team, because the distance amounts to already 39 points forward.

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Cheers!

95jersey

That's one heck of an "oh sh#t". The look on his face at 3am must have been priceless.

sailohio

That would suck on your resume.

BrianCunningham

Someone needs to teach those clowns that beer is meant to be drunk after winning a race.

EDIT
$50 million in damage, or damage to a $50 million facility?

RogueVette

That sounds like something someone from North Tarrytown would do!