2006 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX NÜRBURGRING QUALIFYING
The Honda Racing F1 Team will start tomorrow's European Grand
Prix at the Nürburgring in Germany from the second and
third rows of the grid after a strong performance in this
afternoon's qualifying session. Rubens Barrichello will line-up
in 4th position for the 59-lap race whilst his team-mate Jenson
Button will start directly behind him after posting the 6th
fastest lap.
Both drivers enjoyed a productive morning's free practice
running, working on long run performance for the race. This
afternoon, both drivers continued to battle against the low-grip
conditions but the Honda Racing F1 Team were one of only three
teams to get both drivers through the first two knock-out
sessions and one of only two teams to end qualifying with
both drivers in the top six.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"I'm very pleased with 4th place on the grid. It's another
demonstration of how good the car and the team is and that
we are making real progress. We now just have to keep our
feet on the ground and focus on the race because I think we
have a good strategy and we have shown good pace in free practice
this morning. I'm looking forward to it."
JENSON BUTTON
"I couldn't get a good balance, which is pretty normal
for me around here! The car just didn't feel good so I wasn't
feeling comfortable. I locked up in turn one which didn't
help my last lap time, but it didn't cost much; it probably
wouldn't even have been a place. I think we showed this morning
that our race pace is there and we found a nice balance for
the long runs, so we'll just have to wait and see what the
race brings."
GIL DE FERRAN
Sporting Director
"Both drivers sailed through Q1 but Q2 was a bit tighter,
especially for Jenson. As a result, we were forced to do two
runs to make sure he got into Q3. Once that mission was accomplished,
we focused on making sure traffic wasn't going to play a part
in Jenson and Rubens' fast laps. Rubens did a great job in
Q2 and carried that speed over to Q3 placing him well for
the start. Jenson was less happy with his car during the whole
of qualifying but still managed to end up in the top six.
As usual it is difficult to say what strategy everyone is
on, but we feel we are in a good position going into the race."
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO
Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering
Director - Honda Racing Development
"We have had a good day - we improved the car throughout
the morning and we did a good job in the qualifying session.
Both drivers are well positioned to have a strong race tomorrow."
QUALIFYING STATS
Drivers Car No. Chassis Free Practice 3 Qualifying 1 Qualifying
2 Qualifying 3
Rubens Barrichello 11 RA106-01 P13 P9 P4 P4 1:30.754
Jenson Button 12 RA106-04 P7 P4 P8 P6 1:30.940
Weather Warm and sunny
Qualifying Temperatures Air: 20-21°C Track: 26-39°C
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