Fuente: © Honda Racing F1 Team
http://www.hondaracingf1.com/

FORMULA 1 – HONDA RACING: Rubens battles to 14th in France

Conclusion of a tough weekend for the Honda Racing F1 Team sees Rubens do well to move from 20th to 14th while Jenson retires with damage.

/noticias.info/ Rubens Barrichello made the best of a frustrating French Grand Prix weekend today when he brought his RA108 home in 14th having battled from 20th place on the grid. Rubens fought hard with the cars that he was able to compete with and the six positions that he gained saw the biggest improvement by any driver in the race.

“It was in many ways a great race today, just with a difficult car,” reflected Rubens. “At least we were able to progress up the field and make a fight of it. As we expected, the car was slightly better in race trim and with a good strategy and great pit stops, we were able to improve on my starting position and challenge the people we were able to. Our engineers and mechanics did a great job this weekend, so I would like to thank them for their hard work and motivation.”

His team-mate Jenson Button, on the other hand, had a short-lived race. The handling of his car was affected from the outset by a first corner collision with Sebastien Bourdais. The damage from that incident did not become fully apparent until the wing succumbed to the damage three laps later when he rode the kerb at the last chicane and it became trapped under the front of the car. Jenson pitted for a new nose but went on to experience a severe lack of grip and the car became increasingly undriveable. When he retired after 16 laps, the team were able to see that the bargeboards had been damaged when the wing went under the car.

"Going out of the race so early is a disappointing end to what has been a tough weekend for us,” confirmed Jenson. “I got a good start and was alongside Bourdais. I thought he was going to turn in at turn one and close the door so I pulled in behind him and then unfortunately hit him in the rear as everyone slowed down for the corner. I could feel that there was something broken at the front of the car as there was air coming in from the front, but the car was driveable and I was staying with the back of the pack so I continued. However the front wing must have been loose as a result of the impact, as it dislodged itself when I went over the kerbs in the last chicane and got stuck under the front of the car. We replaced the nose but the bargeboards had been pulled off and the car had become undriveable so I had to retire."

Team Principal Ross Brawn commented: “With a good strategy and consistent laps, Rubens was able to move through the field and, having started from the back of the grid, he went on to make up six places. While this is by no means a good result, the team and car worked very well throughout the whole race. Jenson’s first corner incident with Bourdais damaged the front wing, and as a consequence it became loose and broke off. Despite a nose change, some residual bodywork damage was causing him to lose a great deal of downforce. Given that it was so early in the race it was not sensible to leave a stricken car running so we decided to retire him.”

The Honda Racing F1 Team now turns its attention to the next race on the calendar, the British Grand Prix. The team will test a new aerodynamic package on the RA108 at Silverstone next week, prior to heading to one of its two home races – just seven miles from its UK base in Brackley – on 6 July. notas_de_prensa_archivo