Winner of the Black Hole of Motorsport Award…
The Honda RA108 is, without doubt, the worst F1 car in recent memory. Think of all the resources that Honda chucked at it… and then everything it completely failed to achieve.
But we’ll leave aside what a crushing disappointment it was straight out of the box. And we’ll ignore the awful ‘My Earth Dreams’ campaign that was supposed to inspire people to save the world, but actually just brought attention to the fact that Honda found it easier not to get a main sponsor.
Let’s concentrate instead on how ruined the RA108 has left Jenson Button’s career. The car was so utterly rubbish that it gave the Japanese firm’s head bods no confidence whatsoever in sticking with F1 for 2009.
They pulled out and ‘our Jense’ lost the only available race seat that could have returned him to the front of the grid, leaving him with a 2009 diary that reads something like ‘Get up. Make coffee. Sit around for a while. Play X-Box…’
‘Gutted’ probably sums up Mr Button’s emotions rather nicely at the moment.
So cheers, RA108. You were a big black hole that sucked everything in around you and produced nothing. You big pile of turd.
Agree with this? Wade in below. We’ll add up the total number of comments on each of the WTF Car? Award posts to work out the overall winner, so type carefully.
See the other contenders in our WTF Car? Awards gallery…
it has to be said that some times on matter how bright some people seem to be there’s nothin they can do 2 fix a problem that they have created unless that is ur mcclearn then u take it on the chin cheat and loss £50 million so the short story is honda should of cheated. think about it they lost more than that tryin to make that piece of crap drive right now they r in no mans land mcc r still in f1 and bac as a top team. n 4 jence he is always in the field when luck is on the road
This is the worst car, in my opinion. Sure, the sebring induces suicides at 50 meters and runs on baby seal blood, but I think no other car has had a larger negative impact on motorsport than the RA108. May it burn in hell.
Not only has it left Jenson looking for a job, but Rubens Barichello probably didn’t want to retire like that, but now he might, seeing as probably no-one will want him as he was likely reaching the end of his career anyway…
Such a shame. And I pledged £20 to My Earth Dream. Money wasted!!
well you guys are right as if jensens bonfire wasnt wee’d on enough, now he doesnt get the chance to reedeem himself no NSX ethier shame on you honda
this car made me switch over from Hondas to Nissans
One good thing about the team performing so dismally this year was that i got a Honda team hat dirt cheap from silverstone. Just in time to see Reubens grab a podium.
Honda would have been better using the 2008 super aguri than continuing to run this car. Seeing Jenson’s on fire after the race in Brazil was smugly satisfying.
I’d jointly nominate the RA107 AND the 108. In 2007 they were saying it couldn’t possibly be worse, but hey! guess what!
In the RA106 they had a car that won a race, they could have developed in the same same direction, and made a good car, but no!
Honestly the chief engineer/designer of both of those cars should have been fired earlier, and Ross Brawn should have been brought in sooner, so he could have made an impact in the 108’s design, and not arrive in a phase where things where already too screwed up.
The sad thing is that the RA109 is probably not a bad car at all!
Honestly the RA108 isnt that bad.
from the start of the season it was constantly challenging for the points.
and at Silverstone Rubens even got a podium.
Since then the car has been dreadful. thats because Honda has stopped all major development for the car from Silverstone GP, while other teams continues to develop their car.
If you look at the results, the worst Honda did in the first 9 races (thats up to the British GP) was 14. with 4 point-finishes.
ruined honda and button just rubbish
just no with that one
It would have been faster with an engine made from Yucca plants.
Why wont people understand that you cant make motorsport environmentally freindly. So just bring the noise!
and it shouldnt cost motorsport a good driver. he just needs a good car.
hmm about enviofirendly motorsports.. the first plane the wrights built was kinda crappy and 2day the blackbird is old news.. at least honda as opposed to all others had the balls to try, which is what f1 was/is supposed to be about..in the scale of things, 3rd rate drivers alone will never make an automotive difference it´ll always be a guy with an idea and the will to try to make it happen even if it means failing a couple of times..
should NOT be on the wtf list
I´m begining to think very little of the little man who runs this blog, so far the ssangyong is his only bulls eye hit here the rest of the stuff could´ve been picked in 15 mins by a 12 year old… is that the target group ??
I thought the Arrows that Damon Hill had to drag around in 1997 was bad, but man, this car really sucked.
I think my Peugeot was faster and more reliable than this car, and it’s a diesel too.
This car is a perfect example for the bean-counters to justify why they shouldn’t do motorsport.
You have to feel sorry for Button and Barrichello, another year of their life wasted!
Is it true that one day in testing, Button’s car broke down, so he borrowed the tow truck and lapped round the circuit about 4s a lap faster?
And they claim that their research and development facilities are a main factor in making their team a worthwhile purchase…
Gay.
Honda had every chance to make a good car but instead put everthing into that stupid clarity.Half the engineers were not at gp’s,hence they were crap
Why put an F1 car on this list at all?They are ment to go fast,good airflow to keep the car on the track.It`s not ment for drawing customers in to the Honda-salesmanship,nor to please ur eyes.Form following function!So what if it`s butt-ugly as long as it saves a 10th of a sec. pr lap? I remember 2004,i think it was,when Ferrari suddenly had hubcaps on the front weels.Uglt,yes,but come 2005 McLaren had them,Williams too.This is just wrong!
hear hear
you´re absolutley right 
Jenson did good in 2007.
Then this pile of crap arrived and everything went arse-up leaving Jenson stranded.
Seriously the worst car. Ever.
After the European based management took the team to the front of the grid, Honda replaces them with Japs who are utterly useless and have no idea how to lead an F1 team and now it’s Sayonara Honda… can’t blame the car, blame those boardroom fools who threw a hammer into the works…
in japan ther is no leader, they have a team of leaders and things naturally take longer.. and as for button, puhlease.. give him a ferrari and he might come in the top 3 every once in a while but he isn´t exactly schumacker is he ? 3rd rate, takes what he can get.. and so the cokkie crumbles, it´s like when footbalers blame the shape of the ball or the muddy fields.. pittyful..
Honda F1 was always doomed wih that stupid Earth dreams campaign,and those random ass antlers
AGAIN,What is an F1 car doing on this list?Does Jenson go shopping in it?Does he drive his kids to school with it?Does he even drive it on public roads?NO,because its a freakin`F1 car! IT has no licence-plates!
de honda sucks.. sorry but it does
I supported them, and this is how I’m re payed!
After developing the previous car with a miscalibrated wind tunnel (which someone should have gotten badly sacked for), I thought the RA108 would be better. Instead, it’s put an end to decades of proud racing tradition and left millions of Honda fans (including myself) and Button fans out in the cold. Well played gentlemen.
I think I’ll jump on board with Williams.
Definitely a major contender for the WTF award. It was an utter, spectacular failure.
an absolute pig of a car, which, from the onset had major flaws that could never have been put right, even if the management had wanted too.
All that money, wasted, some thought for a company with ‘Earth Dreams’!
I agree this car was a bit of a black hole in motor sport, except when Jenson Button stepped into it, I see that it went beyond completely hopeless and I even contemplated giving up on motoring shows all together; including Top Gear it was that dire!
It also made Honda so in debt that it made them more rubbish than they were (come on, one win on a race that my late grandad could’ve won) as well as making Button rubbisher (see previous bracketed comment) than he was when he started.
What was worst about this charade was all the BS and false hope about the RA109. Honda’s participation in F1 has seemed cursed at times, but with management as erratic, hesitant and downright stupid as this, it is not surprising.
Isn’t it nice when everything… fails?
Not quite as bad as their new promotional F1 video i spose, but that’s not sayin much.
personally i thought it was a special car, made by special people. dont worry about me guys, theres a lawnmower championship im thinking of entering, im told its quite tough though so maybe just pedal karts.
The car was crap.