2007 CHINESE GRAND PRIX SHANGHAI
RACE
Jenson Button boosted the Honda Racing F1 Team's championship
tally by four crucial points today when he brought his RA107
home in fifth position in China. He delivered an exceptional
performance in the wet-dry race, once again demonstrating
his prowess in challenging weather conditions to achieve the
team's best performance of the season. Rubens Barrichello
meanwhile endured a tough race to finish in 15th position.
Conditions were hot, wet and humid for the start of the 56-lap
race at the Shanghai International Circuit. Both Honda drivers
started the race on the Bridgestone Potenza wet tyre and Jenson
lost one position away from the line to end the opening lap
in 11th place. He spent the next 23 laps mixing it in the
midfield until making his first pitstop on lap 24, when he
became one of the first drivers to switch to dry tyres.
For the next 18 laps Jenson charged through the field, setting
a series of fastest lap times. He immediately found grip which
enabled him to climb up to fourth place by the time of his
second and final pitstop on lap 42. He rejoined the race in
sixth place and when Fisichella pitted ahead of him he moved
into fifth, which is where he ended the race.
Rubens' race was compromised on lap two when he was running
in 15th place. As he braked for turn one, he had a coming
together with Davidson and he dropped to the back of the field.
On lap 25 he made his first pitstop and switched to dry tyres,
but he made the decision to return to the pits for wets on
the following lap when it started to rain again. The shower
was short-lived and he found himself on the wrong tyre for
the rapidly drying track conditions. He made a third stop
later on lap 31 and he crossed the line in 15th place.
JENSON BUTTON
"A fantastic race today and I'm very happy to come away
with four points and our best result of the season. I struggled
at the start of the race as the car was not working well in
the wet conditions and I had no grip, so I ended up slipping
back through the field. When the track dried out we decided
to pit and go for the dry option tyre and a light fuel load.
From then I started setting fastest laps which was a great
feeling. It was a fun race with a lot of overtaking and very
close driving. it is very satisfying to come away with some
good points today."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"Unfortunately we made one decision too many this afternoon,
which compromised the possibility of a good race. When the
rain started after my first pit stop, I thought it would be
wet for the remainder of the race, so I came in for wet tyres
again but this proved to be the wrong choice just a few laps
later. A disappointing end to the weekend but I look forward
now to my home grand prix in Brazil in two weeks time."
JACKY EECKELAERT, Engineering Director
"Two wet races in seven days have made the Asian rounds
an exciting challenge. This time the track conditions were
good for the wet tyre and only one team opted for the extreme
wet, which was clearly not appropriate to the conditions.
At the start of the race our cars struggled to keep pace with
the cars around us as we were on a heavy fuel load. After
everybody pitted for dry tyres it started to rain again and
Rubens opted for wets. This was a gamble and the rain stopped
after only two laps, so Rubens had to do an extra pit-stop
which ruined his hopes of a points finish. Jenson also had
to pit earlier than planned as the track was too dry for the
wet tyres; therefore we could not take advantage of our planned
one-stop strategy. After losing some positions with a heavy
car in the first part of the race, he drove a storming race
to finish in a fine fifth position. It's a nice feeling for
the team to score some points again."
RACE STATS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result
Jenson Button 7 RA107-04 P5 Fastest Lap 01:38.913
Rubens Barrichello 8 RA107-02 P15 Fastest Lap 01:40.516
Weather Hot, wet and humid
Temperatures Air: 28-31°C Track: 35-40°C
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