Geoff Willis walks away from Honda Racing F1

By Phil Huff
June 22 2006

Honda Racing F1's technical director Geoffrey Willis has walked out of the Brackley based team, just twenty four hours after Shuhei Nakamoto was promoted above him.

Recent developments at Honda Racing F1 have suggested a lack of faith in the designer, with Willis being relegated recently to a factory based role, ostensibly to concentrate on aerodynamic development. His role at race weekends was taken by Jacky Eeckelaert.

However, with yesterday's news that Shuhei Nakamoto, the engineering director at Honda Racing Development, was given a newly created senior technical director role at the F1 team, a position above Willis', it was clear that Geoffrey's days at the team were numbered.

With only a limited opportunity to work elsewhere in F1, and with some restrictive clauses in his contract, many expect the Englishman to be absent from Formula One at least until 2007.