Honda taking down-to-earth approach

Honda taking down-to-earth approach

London, Mar 03: Honda made a bold move in deciding to replace the advertising on their Formula One cars with a picture of the Earth to raise awareness of global warming.

Even if cynics suspect that the new look unveiled this week may be more style than substance, it at least makes a change from a team that has regularly promised the earth and then failed to deliver on the track.

They have broken out of the conventional sponsorship mindset which dictates that companies only give money in return for space on the car.

There is no doubt that they want to be seen to be green, even if a Formula One team trumpeting its environmental credentials smacks of double standards.

"Climate change is probably the single biggest issue facing the global community and F1 is not immune from it," said team boss Nick Fry.

"We believe that F1 with its huge global profile and cutting edge technology can play an important role in not only highlighting the issues but also playing our part in developing solutions."

He sounded serious and he had better be. With all car manufacturers under intense pressure to reduce the greenhouse gases emitted by their own products, Formula One does not need any more hot air.

The irony of race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello flying thousands of miles to attend the presentation before returning to Bahrain for the final pre-season test did not go unnoticed on Monday.

Bureau Report

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