2008 SPANISH GRAND PRIX BARCELONA 27 APRIL
RACE RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result
Jenson Button 16 RA108-02 P6 01:22.353
Rubens Barrichello 17 RA108-04 DNF
Weather Hot and sunny
Temperatures Air: 22-24°C Track: 34-41°C
The Honda Racing F1 Team scored its first World Championship
points of the season in today's Spanish Grand Prix, when Jenson
Button finished in sixth position. A tenacious drive from
the Briton, plus some astute strategy calls from the team's
pitwall, saw him climb through the field from 13th position
on the grid.
Jenson drove a 29-lap middle stint, which was longer than
any other driver, which helped him to climb up the order from
13th to fifth. He dropped just one position during his second
and final pitstop on lap 54, and he crossed the line in sixth
place to secure three Championship points for the team.
After a strong start from 11th on the grid, team-mate Rubens
Barrichello's race ended with disappointment. The Brazilian
ran as high as sixth in the early stages, before retiring
with extensive bodywork damage resulting from a pit lane collision
with Giancarlo Fisichella on lap 25.
JENSON BUTTON
Q. Congratulations on securing your first points of the season.
How was your race?
A. "It was a good race for us today and I'm really pleased
to finish in 6th with three points. Unfortunately the safety
car came out at the wrong time for us, although I am pleased
to hear that Heikki is okay. I was on a long first stint so
it was bad timing and definitely cost me some places. The
car was working well with the balance improving lap by lap,
particularly on the last stint with harder tyres where I felt
very comfortable. The team are doing a really good job and
we are benefitting from Ross' technical management."
Q. What can you now expect from the Turkish Grand Prix in
two weeks' time?
A. "I got a really good feel for the new aero package
during the race today and it is definitely an improvement.
The good thing is that what we are seeing from the car reflects
the information from the wind tunnel. This circuit is not
the best for our car as it's a bumpy circuit here and we seem
to lack some driveability over the bumps. When we get to the
next race in Turkey, I expect the car to perform better than
here."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. A disappointing end to what could have been a strong race
for you today?
A. "The car was performing well today so it was especially
disappointing that the incident in the pitlane with Fisichella
brought my race to an end. From what we can see, it was just
one of those unfortunate incidents. The team released me and
advised me of traffic, so I stayed out of the fast lane. Fisichella
overtook me and cut into his box clipping my front wing at
the same time. I managed to get round the lap with the wing
caught under the front of the car but unfortunately the damage
caused to the bodywork was too great to continue and I was
forced to retire. It's a shame as I could have scored some
good points today."
Q. Taking the weekend as a whole, how do you feel about the
improvements made to the RA108?
A. "We have certainly made a step forward in performance
this weekend. The new aero package has performed well and
although it took some tuning this week to ensure that we achieved
the optimum set-up, the car was well balanced and performing
well in the race. There is still a long way to go but it is
encouraging to know that we are improving step by step. I
look forward to the next few races and hope that we can continue
to make progress."
ROSS BRAWN, Team Principal
Q. Honda's first points of the season. You must be delighted?
A. "The whole team is delighted to score some points
as we embark on the European season and it is just reward
after the tremendous efforts made by everyone. We have made
a good step forward with the new upgrade package and today's
result reflects all the hard work that the team have put into
developing the car since the start of the season. We are making
good progress, which is encouraging for the rest of the season
and for the future. I really feel that all elements of the
team, chassis and engine are beginning to gel."
Q. What will Honda be doing to maintain the momentum?
A. "We have a number of smaller developments to introduce
over the next few races, to tailor the package to the varying
characteristics of the forthcoming circuits, and at the same
time we will be working hard on the development of our next
substantial upgrade for Silverstone."
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