2008 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX SAKHIR
RACE
After a promising performance in qualifying, the Honda Racing
F1 Team's race today was rather more frustrating. Rubens Barrichello
brought his RA108 home in 11th position whilst Jenson Button
was forced to retire at one-third distance.
Rubens ran in 12th position for the opening stint of the
race. He was held behind Fisichella for a substantial distance
and had to wait until the first pitstops to make his move.
They pitted on the same lap and the Honda pit crew did a fantastic
job to get Rubens out ahead. He made his second pitstop on
lap 42 and went on to finish just 0.6s behind Alonso in 11th
place after following Alonso very closely for 15 laps.
At the start, Jenson gained one position to be eighth, but
his hopes of a competitive finish ended at turn five of the
opening lap where he sustained a puncture to his right rear
tyre. He was forced to pit and he rejoined the race in 20th
position. Jenson was lapping very competitively before he
clashed with Coulthard on lap 19. Jenson pitted initially
for a new nose, before retiring two laps later with extensive
damage to the rear end of the car which rendered it unraceworthy.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result
Rubens Barrichello 17 RA108-04 P11 01:34.855
Jenson Button 16 RA108-02 DNF
Weather Hot and sunny
Temperatures Air: 28-30°C Track: 34-39°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. How was your race today?
A. "It was a good race for us today in terms of the pace
of the car. I didn't have a very good start and it was chaotic
on the first lap with others going off the track. I was able
to avoid any collisions but lost a few positions in the process.
After that I was stuck behind Fisichella and lost a lot of
time until the team did a great job with my first pit-stop
to get me out ahead of him on the road. From then on, the
car felt good and I could start closing the gap to the pack
ahead."
Q. What have you learnt from the RA108 this weekend?
A. "Overall we have had a very positive weekend in Bahrain.
The car has shown the pace required to make Q3 and the lap
times look good from the race today. I have successfully completed
my third full race distance of the season which shows strong
reliability. Unfortunately we lacked the straight-line speed
necessary to overtake on the long straights here today which
compromised our race. I'm confident that the developments
that we have coming for the next few races will see us continue
to improve and enable us to challenge for points."
JENSON BUTTON
Q. A disappointing outcome to a race that held real
promise for you. How are you feeling?
A. "I got a good start and was able to make up a couple
of places off the line and then I'm not sure what happened
into turn five. I was hit from behind, got a puncture and
had to pit, which really ruined my race from the first lap.
After we'd changed the tyres, the pace of the car was really
good and I felt very comfortable with the balance. The lap
times were very good for the car that we have at the moment
so I was disappointed to be so far down the field following
the first lap incident."
Q. Tell us about the coming together with David Coulthard?
A. "I caught up with David quite quickly as he seemed
to be struggling and I had a go at passing him down into turn
eight. I committed early as he hit the brakes, when it was
evident that there was a gap where I could get a huge run
on him down into the apex. Unfortunately he moved back over
to the racing line late in the braking zone and I had nowhere
to go and couldn't slow the car down in time. We had to retire
as there was significant damage to the rear of the car. It's
a very frustrating way to end what could have been a really
good race but we will take the positives from this weekend
with our first top ten qualifying position and the pace of
the car today. We now look ahead to Barcelona where we will
have a lot of new developments and I'm confident that we will
take a further step forward."
ROSS BRAWN, Team Principal
Q. Are you pleased to see further signs of encouragement
in today's race?
A. "Jenson got a great start but unfortunately the puncture
put him out of contention. His early pace was very competitive
though, matching the front runners. Rubens lost time following
Fisichella but otherwise he had the pace to score points.
Both our qualifying and race pace are gradually improving
race by race as we continue to work on the set-up."
Q. As we head into the European season, tell us about
Honda's preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix?
A. "We have a four-day test in Barcelona where we will
evaluate our major aero upgrade. Obviously most teams will
also be making improvements however we hope our step will
be larger than most. We also have a straight-line test in
Menorca to measure the new aero package full size."
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