2007 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
The 2007 Formula One season gets underway with the curtain-raising
Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne next weekend.
Following the launch of the Honda Racing F1 Team's pioneering
environmental initiative, the Australian Grand Prix will see
the Honda RA107 take to the track in its new 'earth' livery
for the first time. In support of the campaign to raise environmental
awareness, the team's race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens
Barrichello will be visiting the Albert Park Primary School
at the start of the race weekend to join the schoolchildren
in an energy-saving programme.
On the race track, the team goes into the new season with
continuity in its race driver line-up as Jenson and Rubens
enter their second season together at the team, giving Honda
one of the most experienced driver pairings on the 2007 grid.
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO - Senior Technical Director
"We have set high targets for this, our second season
as a 100% Honda team, and, as always, are excited about
getting down to business at the Australian Grand Prix. Although
we have made some progress in the recent test in Bahrain,
we still have to find more improvements to take us to where
we want to be. Our race pace looks stronger than our qualifying
pace at the moment. All in all, we must try to get the best
out of our current package, whilst continuing to work hard
on the development of new items for the test in Sepang after
Melbourne."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"The Australian Grand Prix is always one of my favourite
races on the calendar and I enjoy spending time in Melbourne
where there is a great atmosphere over the race weekend. I
feel totally at home with the Honda team this year so I really
expect a better season and I am so motivated to start racing
again. I'm also looking forward to being back on Bridgestone
tyres for this season, which should be a good thing for me
as I have so much experience with Bridgestone. At the Honda
team, we have made some significant progress through pre-season
testing since the launch of the RA107 but there is still work
to do. I have no doubt that with the resources of Honda, we
can continue to improve the car throughout the season and
we have a lot to look forward to."
JENSON BUTTON ON THE ALBERT PARK CIRCUIT
Jenson Button began his F1 career in Melbourne in 2000 and
talks us around the city and the Albert Park circuit.
"Obviously Melbourne is a very special place for me
as the circuit where I made my F1 debut. But it's more than
just the race track in Albert Park. I love the very special
atmosphere of the city, both in its own right and from the
sheer buzz involved in being at the first race of the season.
The setting of the circuit is also one of the best on the
calendar.
Once I'm in Australia, in the immediate run-up to the race
I will be getting down to some more serious training. I've
got a friend there who I go riding down round the coast beyond
St Kilda. It's a terrific place to prepare for the race and
when I'm not training, I will be checking out the local restaurants
which are great.
The weather conditions for the race can be pretty variable.
One year it can be cold with the winds blowing up from the
Antarctic and the next it can be really warm. I much prefer
it when the weather is warm so fingers crossed for this year.
Being the first race it can get a little bit chaotic going
down to the first corner. The track is very bumpy and you
have to be careful not to lock up your wheels over the bumps
into the braking area and just stay out of trouble really.
The start is the best place to overtake. You can also get
past into Ascari, the fast right hander after the back straight,
once you come cleanly off the fast left-right bend at Waite.
There is also a slim possibility of squeezing by into turn
three.
It is very important to get your corner apexes right here.
On some circuits braking is the most important thing, but
here there are so many chicanes and ess-bends that you have
to be very precise and consistent."
Everything that you have been working on over the winter
needs to come together for the first race of the season, so
its about choosing the right race strategy, making sure that
the pit crew get everything right and good mechanical reliability."
ALBERT PARK, 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.
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