2006 CHINESE GRAND PRIX
SHANGHAI - RACE
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Chinese Grand Prix ended pretty
much as it began today with drivers Rubens Barrichello and
Jenson Button locked together as they brought home a fourth
consecutive double points finish for the team. Having started
from 3rd and 4th on the grid, they finally ended the 56-lap
race with Jenson 4th and Rubens 6th after a race-long battle
in the changeable wet-dry-wet conditions.
Two faultless pitstops for both drivers were well-timed to
ensure a safe switch to dry tyres. Jenson had been struggling
for grip in the latter part of the first stint, pitting much
earlier than planned. At the same time, Rubens was really
making up ground as his car and tyres were performing well.
From the point of Jenson's first pitstop he was in his element,
edging closer to his team-mate to produce some real 'edge-of-your-seat'
racing for the fans. Both drivers sat tight on dry tyres as
the rain started to fall again in the last few laps before
Jenson seized the moment and passed first a McLaren, then
his team-mate and finally a BMW in quick succession to secure
a hard-fought 4th position.
After a real adrenaline buzz of a race in Shanghai, the team
heads to Japan for its home Grand Prix next weekend, where
it hopes to put on an equally exciting show for its legions
of Honda fans.
JENSON BUTTON
"I'm really pleased to have finished where I started
in 4th position. Initially the car felt really good; I was
pulling away from the field well and staying in touch with
the cars in front. Then I started to struggle with the rear
tyres which were practically bald so I had to come in early
for my first pitstop. I had no rear grip and because of that
I was losing 3 seconds or more a lap. In the dry there was
only one line and from that point I was just in my element
really! It was a lot of fun and reminded me of the karting
days when I won the European Championships back in 1997. Into
the last corner I was in front of Rubens and De La Rosa and
I came down the inside of Heidfeld, turned into the corner
and when I looked into my mirrors I could see the people behind
me were going straight on and into each other. There are a
few areas where we are weak which we need to work on, but
we are still fired up for our home race in Japan next weekend."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"My race was OK, although my car was better on the wet
tyres than the 'slicks'. It was a real shame that my last
lap was ruined and there were some problems with the backmarkers
so I lost time and two positions. Heidfeld was forced to make
an avoiding manoeuvre in turn 2 but I was there on the track
already and we touched, which damaged my front wing. With
the resulting loss of front downforce, I lost more time over
the remainder of that final lap. There was more confusion
at the hairpin, and again Heidfeld and I came together, but
I managed to recover to finish the race. 4th and 6th is another
good team result. We are looking competitive for our home
race next weekend when I hope we can secure another good team
result in front of the Japanese crowd."
GIL DE FERRAN
orting Director
"What an exciting race! Although we didn't get the podium
we were hoping for, having Jenson and Rubens in the points
again is a good result for us considering the unpredictable
and difficult conditions. After a good start from both drivers,
the first issue we encountered was when Jenson started suffering
an imbalance which was costing him a lot of time towards the
latter half of his first stint. As a result we brought him
in earlier than scheduled to change the tyres. Rubens wasn't
suffering with the same issues and we retained the same set
of tyres on his first stop. The track was taking a long time
to dry out and we just about hit the right time to change
to dry tyres when both drivers had to come in for their second
stop. From then on, Jenson and Rubens were not only fighting
each other but they were also challenging Heidfeld ahead as
well as being pursued by De La Rosa. This fight culminated
in a very exciting last few laps when it started drizzling
with rain and they all shuffled positions. In the end this
was a good result for us and hopefully we can go one step
further in front of our home crowd in Japan."
RACE STATS
Drivers Car No. Chassis Race Result
Rubens Barrichello 11 RA106-01 P6 Fastest lap 01:39.749
Jenson Button 12 RA106-05 P4 Fastest lap 01:39.206
Weather Changeable: Wet-Dry-Wet
Temperatures Air: 22-23°C Track: 21-24°C
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