BAR must start winning says Willis

BAR had to be the most improved team of the 2004 season, with strong performances and a string of podium finishes that resulted in second place in the constructors' championship. The only thing that was missing was the maiden win and technical ...

BAR had to be the most improved team of the 2004 season, with strong performances and a string of podium finishes that resulted in second place in the constructors' championship. The only thing that was missing was the maiden win and technical director Geoff Willis is obviously aiming to work towards that goal in 2005.

"We really must start winning next year," he said in an interview with ITV-F1. "We need to approach it in the same way we approached this year, which was by raising the performance of the team, the drivers and the car, to the point where we got on the podium."

"Then we went on to get another ten. We need to win on merit. Once we've done that, there's a high likelihood we'll win more on merit. That's what gets you into the ballpark of fighting for a championship."

The 007, BAR's 2005 challenger, is not quite James Bond but Willis is impressed with it so far. "It's an evolution but it is quite a lot more sophisticated in every way," he said. "When you take the bodywork off, it's very tightly packaged, very neat. I've been really impressed by what the design team have done this year."

Willis' work in 2004 garnered praise from Ferrari and although he admits that if an opportunity arose in the future to work with the Scuderia he wouldn't say no, for the moment BAR is his focus.

"My immediate future is with BAR Honda," he stated. "We have a clear plan, Honda are tied in very closely with the team, and we've got to go and win a world championship."