2006 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - PREVIEW
ALBERT PARK, MELBOURNE
The Honda Racing F1 Team heads to Australia this weekend
for round three of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Traditionally the host of the first Grand Prix of the season,
this year's Melbourne race was delayed from its usual opening
weekend as the city enjoyed playing host to a very successful
Commonwealth Games.
After a solid start to the 2006 season, with a fourth and
a third position putting Jenson Button joint second in the
Drivers' Championship, everyone at the team is looking forward
to another successful weekend at the Albert Park street circuit
in Melbourne.
The team returned to the test track last week with a three-day
test at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy. Rubens Barrichello,
Anthony Davidson and James Rossiter had a successful test,
despite rain, and put some new developments on the RA106 race
car through their paces in preparation for the Australian
Grand Prix and the upcoming European season.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
I really enjoy the Australian Grand Prix and it is certainly
one of my favourite races on the calendar. The Australian
people are so relaxed, always helpful and smiling, it reminds
me of Brazil really. Melbourne is a fantastic place to be
based but what I like most about the weekend is the race track
with its great combination of corners. Despite the weather,
we achieved some good work at the Vallelunga test last week
and I was encouraged by the new ideas that we tested. So I'm
really looking forward to getting to Melbourne, our car seems
to be strong in all areas at the moment, and I think we should
enjoy the weekend."
JENSON BUTTON
"Australia is a race that I always enjoy and having had
a couple of races already this season, I think Melbourne is
going to be even more special as we understand already who
is quick and who isn't. Usually we don't know who is going
to be competitive when Melbourne is the first race of the
season. It's a beautiful city and I always enjoy travelling
there very much. I'll be spending some time in Sydney before
the race as well, working on my training and fitness but also
taking some time to relax. The Albert Park street circuit
is great for drivers but also for the fans as they can get
that much closer to the action. We'll be hoping to build on
the podium finish in Malaysia and using some of the developments
from the test last week, I'm sure that we will have another
strong race."
GIL DE FERRAN
Sporting Director
"Melbourne should be quite a different weekend from the
first two races, not only is it a temporary circuit but the
climate is expected to be somewhat cooler. Although we have
been quite competitive so far, our focus is on continued improvements
and hopefully the work put in over the last few weeks will
pay dividends. Last but not least, the Australian Grand Prix
remains one of the favourite stops in the whole Championship,
the mixture between the town, fans and on-track action makes
for an unforgettable experience."
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO
Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering
Director - Honda Racing Development
"Melbourne will be a new challenge after the heat and
humidity of the first two races. On the engine side we have
a number of improvements in
the pipeline, which we will be introducing over the next few
races."
Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne
Race Distance 58 laps
Circuit Length 3.295 miles (5.303 kms)
Albert Park was used for the non-championship Australian
Grand Prix as early as 1953, but regular GP racing returned
to the sporting capital of Australia in 1996. The circuit
is remarkably unchanged, still weaving around the park lake,
although now in a clockwise direction, with the old circuit
running along the back of the pit area.
Albert Park is a high downforce circuit, and one that is
very popular with the drivers. The 5.303km track features
a mixture of short straights and slow to medium speed corners,
and requires the car set-up to have a balance of good traction
and stability under braking, as well as being aerodynamically
efficient.
The circuit uses the normal roads of Albert Park as the basis
of its layout, so the surface is normally quite dirty when
the cars start running on Friday. It cleans up quickly however
and lap times fall as rubber goes down in the corners. The
generally smooth surface means tyre wear is not an issue,
but getting tyres to work effectively certainly is.
|
