2006 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
ALBERT PARK, MELBOURNE
RACE
A torrid race came to a disappointing conclusion for pole-sitter
Jenson Button in Melbourne today. Four outings for the safety
car in an action-packed Australian Grand Prix left Jenson
struggling for grip as he was unable to get heat into his
tyres and he lost three places as the field reacted to a series
of major accidents. He was running 5th and looking good for
4 points when his engine blew as he passed through the final
corner.
Despite brake problems throughout the race, Rubens Barrichello
was able to translate a disappointing grid slot into a 7th
place finish, which opens his 2006 points account.
With a three week break before the next race in Imola, the
team has two weeks of testing ahead to analyse these problems,
first in Vallelunga, Italy and then in Barcelona. As Jenson
did not take the chequered flag in Melbourne today he escapes
a 10-place grid penalty in the next race, which gives the
team the opportunity to maximise the benefit of its testing
developments.
JENSON BUTTON
"It's disappointing to end the weekend as we did today
after starting the race in pole position. The way the race
panned out with the four safety cars left me struggling for
grip after each restart and I lost so much time and so many
places. I could feel that something was wrong with the engine
in turn 13 and it was a difficult way to end the race after
such a long hard battle. The car is strong when we have tyre
temperature, but when we don't we have massive grip problems.
We have two weeks of testing before Imola and hopefully we
can solve these problems."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"It was very frustrating that Jenson was unable to finish
the race. Although we didn't have the pace to fight very hard,
it was disappointing to see him go out like that. I struggled
the whole race with the brakes and it was impossible for me
to overtake, although I was able to get past Speed and gain
position. I have a couple of points at least, so in that respect
at least my season is underway now. I think we all realise
what a lot of work there is to do in the next couple of weeks
in testing if we are to start the European season in a more
competitive position."
GIL DE FERRAN
Sporting Director
"Jenson had a very difficult time to warm up the tyres
at the start and every restart after that, which meant that
he progressively lost places in those situations. The same
issue troubled both drivers. Then we had an engine failure
on the last turn. Rubens had a tough race through the field
and did a good job to finish in the points. We were unlucky
with him on the second outing for the safety car since we
elected to keep him out to gain track position, but the plan
didn't work when he encountered traffic. Overall we were certainly
hoping for more but despite the disappointment we will continue
to keep pushing. There are two tests prior to Imola where
we will be able to look into some of the issues that afflicted
us here."
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO
Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering
Director - Honda Racing Development "We'll be studying
the data to work out the cause of Jenson's engine problem.
We're sorry his efforts did not bring him any points today.
He drove a strong race but struggled for grip after the safety
car periods. Rubens did well to score his first points of
the season. We have lots to work on in testing to get where
we need to be."
RACE STATS
Drivers Car No. Chassis Race Result
Rubens Barrichello 11 RA106-01 P7 Fastest
lap 01:27.799
Jenson Button 12 RA106-04 P10 Fastest lap
01:27.690
T-Car - RA106-03
Weather Warm and Sunny
Temperatures Air: 18-20°C Track: 24-30°C
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