Q. How important to the team was Jenson' Buttons sixth place in Barcelona?
"We were extremely pleased to pick up our first points of the season in Barcelona and it was just reward for the efforts that everyone has put in over the last few months. We took many positives from the race weekend, including the good performance of the new aero package and our strategy working well, with the execution of the pit stops being especially good. Of course, there are challenges to be overcome, however I am confident we have the right attitude and commitment to resolve these. There is tremendous potential in this team and our three points in Barcelona was the first step at the start of a very intense few months of racing."
Jenson Button, Driver
Q. Knowing the strengths of the RA108, do you expect the car to be competitive at the Turkish Grand Prix?
"The Spanish Grand Prix was our first major upgrade to the RA108 and the new aero package definitely gave us a performance improvement over the weekend. It's good to know that we are improving the car step-by-step and I was able to develop a good understanding of the new developments. The car that we take to Turkey will be essentially the same package, therefore our focus will be getting onto Q3 and qualifying in the top ten. Turkey is a circuit that I have always been competitive at, and really enjoy driving, so I am hopeful that we will have a good race."
Rubens Barrichello
Q. You reach 257 Grand Prix appearances this weekend. What does this mean to you?
"Becoming the most experienced Formula One driver ever means a great deal to me. I've had a long career in Formula One and I have so many wonderful memories, but I don't feel any different today to the day when I started out on this journey in 1993. My first race, at Kyalami, seems like yesterday. I must thank my family and friends for their unwavering support through the years. I was lucky enough to start my career in F1 at a young age and I love racing as much as ever and, importantly, I still love Formula One. Whilst people will look back at my 16-year career in Turkey, I'm still looking forward and the next race is the one that matters the most."
Rubens Barrichello set fast time in Tuesday's testing besting the likes of Felippe Masa, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. However, Alonso was back on top on Wednesday and Barrichello was not in the top five. Still is it possible Honda might actually be competitive this weekend? It sure would be a welcoming sight.
Honda’s Rubens Barrichello led the way in Barcelona on Tuesday, as testing continued at the Circuit de Catalunya. Running Bridgestone’s experimental slick tyres, Barrichello was close to a second faster than Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella, also on slicks. The Brazilian covered 79 laps during the course of the day, as he focused on evaluating development parts for the RA108.
“I tested the new 2009 slick tyres here today (Tuesday) - which was the reason for my fastest lap - but we were also much quicker on the 2008 grooved rubber too,” he explained. “The best lap we did here in February was a 1min 22.3s and now we are at 1min 20.7s, so we're really moving forward.”
Renault’s Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets as this week’s multi-team test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya continued on Wednesday. Alonso’s best, a 1m 18.483s lap, was set on Bridgestone’s 2009 slick tyres and put the Spaniard almost a second ahead of former sparring partner Michael Schumacher, who returned to the cockpit for Ferrari.
“The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car,” Alonso said. “But we still need to keep improving because it seems that our competitors have also improved and so it is still difficult to say how we really compare with them. We have to wait until next week to get a full picture of where we stand. It was fun to try the slick tyres, which gave very good grip.”
Schumacher, meanwhile, took charge of Ferrari’s test programme for the day.
Barrichello was sixth on Wednesday.
Though Rubens did not mention it, his Honda is sporting a radical new front wing this weekend.
Race drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button each conducted two days of running in the new RA107 with test driver James Rossiter completing two days in the RA106 car as it comes towards the end of its testing schedule. Following a successful first test in Barcelona last week, the RA107 programme focused on the evaluation of different set-up options and the new controls software whilst continuing to put further mileage on the new chassis. The inclement weather experienced in the first two days of the test also allowed the team to run the RA107 on the Bridgestone Potenza wet tyres for the first time.
Rubens Barrichello...“We made a step forward this week in our understanding of the car, despite the poor weather which limited the amount of mileage covered on my two days of running. We focused on electronic controls work and set-up developments, along with some reliability running, before further new parts become available for the next tests. It is early days yet but I am happy with our current position.”
The Honda Racing F1 Team completed its four-day test at the Valencia circuit in Spain Friday. After inclement weather at the start of the week, the test was extended for an extra day to allow the teams to make up some of the track time lost on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jenson Button continued his running in the RA107 for a second day and spent the early part of the morning session conducting check runs to establish a good balance on the car, before completing short new tyre runs. In the afternoon, Jenson continued the set-up programme for the RA107 as he ran through various set-up changes over longer runs.
Honda are feeling confident for the season ahead after the team’s 2007 challenger, the RA107, passed its first test with flying colours. The new car completed 178 laps, some 823 kilometres, at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya last week during the Japanese team’s three-day session. After a brief shakedown run at Silverstone on Monday of last week, the RA107 headed to Spain. Race driver Rubens Barrichello completed a private run on Wednesday, before taking charge of the new car during its official launch in front of the media on Thursday. In total the Brazilian covered 92 laps in the new car, clocking a fastest time of 1m 23.030s.
"It's been an exciting test for us this week and I'm glad to have had the chance to drive the new RA107 car,” said Barrichello. “The whole team has done a great job and the car is already on the same pace as last year's car, despite not having all of its development parts yet. There is a lot of work to do to get us ready for the start of the season, but from my laps this week, I really enjoyed the feeling of the car." The Brazilian’s team mate, Jenson Button, was also in attendance, although his initial run on Thursday was interrupted by a minor problem which saw him stop out on track. Button made it back out on Friday and completed 86 laps, the British driver’s best time a 1m 23.16s.
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