BARCELONA END OF TEST REPORT
The Honda Racing F1 Team completed the three-day test at
the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today as the team continues
its preparations for the start of the 2008 Formula One season
in Australia on 16 March.
Rubens and Alex began the test programme on Monday on a track
surface that was damp and slippery following overnight rain.
Both drivers ran through a qualifying simulation in the morning,
running on the extreme wet and wet Bridgestone tyres in changing
conditions. The circuit dried sufficiently to allow dry running
in the afternoon with Rubens and Alex successfully completing
full race distances with pit stops. Rubens covered 115 laps
over the day with Alex totalling 109 laps.
Jenson joined Rubens at the wheel of the RA108s on Tuesday
morning with the test programme continuing to focus on qualifying
and race practice. Neither driver was able to complete their
full race distances on this occasion as running was brought
to an early conclusion with two different issues stopping
the cars on their second stints. The team have identified
the cause of the problems and will be implementing the required
fixes. Jenson completed 66 laps with Rubens covering 73 laps.
The final day of the test on Wednesday saw Alex back in the
car running alongside Jenson. The drivers spent the morning
working on the set-up and handling of the car, alongside a
race start programme, before working through a further race
simulation exercise in the afternoon. Jenson completed 89
laps with Alex finishing the day on 109 laps.
The team will complete its pre-season preparations at a private
test at the Jerez circuit from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 March.
Rubens Barrichello
"I was able to complete a lot of laps over the two days,
particularly with the race distance on Monday. We had a minor
concern with the engine on Tuesday which cut my race distance
short but the issue is easy to address. We are finding that
the performance of the car is quite varied as I had a different
reaction from the car over the two days so we have some set-up
work to complete. It is too early to make a final comment
on performance as we have our new aero update kit to evaluate
next week."
Jenson Button
"Our focus this week was to run through the requirements
of a race weekend with qualifying and race practice to ensure
that we are well prepared for the start of the season. Our
main aero updates and some new mechanical developments will
arrive for the Jerez test next week and we have a great deal
to do there to ensure that we are in a position to be competitive
for Melbourne. We have been doing a lot of work to overcome
our handling issues but the pace and the lap times are not
there yet."
Alex Wurz
"On Monday, we completed a full race distance, along
with the opportunity to drive in the wet conditions, which
was very useful for working on engine drivability. We have
made some good steps on the drivability over the last few
tests which is pleasing. The programme for Wednesday concentrated
on set-up evaluations and suspension development which proved
to be very interesting and we gained a lot of understanding
and data which we will work on processing before the start
of the season."
Steve Clark - Head of Race & Test Engineering
"The focus of our test programme this week was to run
through qualifying and race scenarios in preparation for the
start of the season with our race drivers, pit crew and equipment.
Running the car over a race distance and tightly timed practice
sessions highlights any reliability concerns and ensures the
team are familiar with the car and its workings. This all
went well with race practices on all three days and qualifying
simulations on Monday and Tuesday. We also completed an evaluation
of revised suspension settings on Wednesday morning to address
the handling concerns that the RA108 has been experiencing,
which produced some positive results. We now have a three-day
test in Jerez next week, where we will be running with a completely
revised aerodynamic package, to finalise our pre-season preparation."
TEST STATS (All timings are unofficial)
Drivers Monday 25 February Tuesday 26 February
Wednesday 27 February
Rubens Barrichello 115 laps 01:24.460 73 laps 01:23.159
-
Jenson Button - 66 laps 01:22.659 89
laps 01:23.754
Alex Wurz 109 laps 01:24.667 -
109 laps 01:24.154
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