2006 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
SILVERSTONE - RACE
A frustrating British Grand Prix weekend for the Honda Racing
F1 Team came to a disappointing conclusion today after Jenson
Button retired in front of his home crowd and team-mate Rubens
Barrichello finished outside of the points.
After starting from 19th on the grid, Jenson was putting
on a great show for the fans as he carved his way through
the field. He had moved up to 12th place within just 9 laps
before his RA106 racecar suffered an engine oil leak. Rubens
also endured a tough race, struggling with the balance from
the start and eventually finishing in 10th place.
The team now heads to Monza next week for a 3-day test in
preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
JENSON BUTTON
"The race was going well for me and the car felt pretty
good. We weren't as quick as the leaders but the car was working
well and had a good balance. I was absolutely loving it out
there, working my way through the field, and given our fuel
load I was doing pretty well. Then I saw the flames out of
the back of the car and went off due to oil on the tyres,
so it is looking like an engine oil leak unfortunately. A
disappointing end to the weekend really, especially in front
of my home crowd. It's frustrating that I couldn't give them
the race they deserved today. When I walked back in it was
quite emotional as there were lots of cheers and flags being
waved. The fans' support this weekend has been fantastic.
As for the next race, the important thing is to get the best
out of what we have which we weren't able to do here this
weekend."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"I'm really disappointed to finish 10th after starting
from a reasonably good grid slot. The car works well with
new tyres and then the performance just goes away during the
race and I just seem to be fighting the car the whole time.
We have a lot of hard work to do if we are going to close
the gap to the top teams because it's very frustrating right
now and the car is too far away from where we should be."
GIL DE FERRAN
Sporting Director
"Overall this was a difficult day for the whole team.
Jenson had a very strong start to his race, making up several
places until his eventual retirement early in the race with
an oil leak. Rubens also had a hard afternoon, struggling
with the car balance throughout the race. Clearly not the
result we were hoping for and we have some homework to do."
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO
Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering
Director - Honda Racing Development
"I am obviously really disappointed by the way we have
raced this weekend. We are not yet sure about the problem
that ended Jenson's race but the engine itself is fine. It
looks like there has been an oil leak somewhere so we have
to analyse things deeply and find out the specific issue.
We must work harder."
RACE STATS
Drivers Car No. Chassis Race Result
Rubens Barrichello 11 RA106-01 P10 Fastest lap 01:23.224
Jenson Button 12 RA106-04 DNF Fastest lap 01:25.207
Weather Hot and sunny
Temperatures Air: 26-28°C Track: 40-47°C
|
