RR: Well we move onto Honda now, and mark my words, this is going to be an exciting season for them.

NDR: Although not completely new - just a complete buyout of BAR, the team could be heading in the right direction. Having Rubens in the squad is a good move for the them, and looks like both drivers will work well together and move the team forward. I reckon maybe a better season for them than 04, because I am expecting wins and points aplenty, especially at the beginning with some teams finding their feet.

RR: Definitely. Pre season testing has suggested that Honda have both speed and reliability, and have been pushing Renault hard.

NDR: Exactly. I am now considering the possibility that they may actually be ahead, though that could be wishful thinking. I thought after Dave Richards left the team they would slump a little but not so. Fry is doing a great job, and De Ferran not so bad either - despite having a rather obscure job description don't you think? Maybe they just want associations with Champions. Teams use to get by alright doing that themselves, but they are hiring people like Herbert as well now.

RR: Yeah that's a valid point. But is Jenson Button really what he's cracked up to be? Is he really capable of winning races, or is he just another driver that 'could have been?'

NDR: I don't actually really know. I mean, one minute he's brilliant. The next he hasn't got enough drive in him. Martin Brundle has commented on that a few times I think. Jenson is really good with the car, but he also gives away places pretty easily doesn't he? He is good with the PR though, but that doesn't win you the races, so I suppose he is worth his weight in gold in that light. He is also the highest paid driver not to have won anything isn't he? Maybe patriotic fans built him up too much. But I don't think so. He HAS got something.

RR: Well there's no doubt he's one of the smoothest drivers in the field, and he brought the car home in the points in every race from the French Grand Prix onwards, which proves he's also consistent. And if he can produce drives like his mesmeric drive at the German Grand Prix in 2004, then he is more than capable of winning races plural this year, and I think Barrichello must be included in the mix too.

NDR: Jenson is a great qualifier, last year proved that in my mind. He wasn't given as much credit for that as he should have been. Now that Sato has gone and Barrichello has arrived he will have to step up so I'm sure will see a better Jens as a result of that. Of course include Rubens Barrichello in the mix. But think he realised to late the Ferrari avenue was the wrong one so he may just push too hard in attempt to try and land a championship somewhere. Maybe I am wrong. But you know, they say nice guys finish last - and that team is full of them. Both are consistent pilots so that will be useful in the constructors. Rubens is a race winner as well.

RR: Very true, I agree, I think Rubens has left Ferrari too late. He isn't the baby faced Brazilian anymore, but I think he will have a point to prove, and he will be desperate to show he can challenge for championships.

NDR: Honda have a lot of success behind them, and all the recent failure won't be good for their image so they will try to make up for that and try to outdo Toyota this year if they can. But giving Aguri engines could be bad for them, or it could be good for them. What do you think on that one?

RR: Well it could remove focus, but it could also help the engineers understand the engine quicker, gaining an advantage. Honda have produced a quick car by the looks of it this year, and the engine is rumoured to be one of the, if not the most powerful engine in F1 at the moment, but the car looks a mess though doesn't it? Too many aero bits for my liking.

NDR: Yes. Not the nicest car they have designed. But looks does not get you everywhere in Formula 1. I know there was a theory that good looking cars - especially Ferraris are fast, but that is not necessarily true. Hope all those aero kits work for them. And they should, because they have a strong design team behind them.

RR: Geoffrey Willis is definitely among the best engineers on the grid, and he will certainly have produced a car that is capable of challenging at the front, behind the Renaults, but ahead of the Ferrari's from what I've seen so far.

NDR: The BAR made huge advances when he joined them in 03. So that is entirely feasible. Plus having worked at Williams with Newey the guy knows exactly what he's doing in his department. I think the Renaults personally are better aerodynamically.

RR: Well that's going to be very hard to judge, but pre season testing would suggest that Renault are ahead, not that Honda should be counted out though.

NDR: Testing seems to get more and more complicated each year - especially with Max' eternally changing rule system. This year has so many unknowns, and that's a good opportunity for teams like BAR to get ahead, so they might have done this. But I fear that the rules are made for Ferrari again - a conspiracy I know, but what argument is strong enough to suggest otherwise.

RR: Well its very hard to explain either way, but one thing that I feel is for certain, is that Honda will be challenging in 2006.

NDR: I think so too, but I guess, like everything else we will see when we get to Bahrain. And the BAR's had a fairly good record there so it could be a good track for Honda.

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