2008 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
SILVERSTONE - RACE
Rubens Barrichello delivered a podium finish for his Honda
Racing F1 Team today after a brilliant drive in the dramatic
British Grand Prix was rewarded with third place - the 62nd
podium of his Formula One career and his first for the Honda
team.
The 60-lap race was wet throughout, however the amount of
water on the track varied significantly and some excellent
strategy calls helped to propel Rubens up the order from his
16th position on the grid. At one point, after fitting extreme
wet tyres, he was the fastest driver on the track and he even
overtook eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton, before settling
for third place.
No rain was falling as the cars lined up on the grid, but
with a damp track Rubens and Jenson started on the Bridgestone
Potenza wet tyre. Both had excellent starts with Rubens making
up six places on the opening lap, and Jenson five, and from
there the foundations of their races were laid.
The two Honda RA108s ran nose-to-tail for much of the opening
stint of the race, before Rubens pitted for new wet tyres
on lap 24 and Jenson on lap 25. Heavy rain began to fall at
half distance and a quick decision was made to bring in both
cars on lap 35 for extreme wet tyres. A problem with the refuelling
rig at Rubens' stop delayed both drivers, however the Brazilian
still had to make a third stop on lap 46, by which time he
had climbed up to second place. The stop dropped him to third
place, and despite this he crossed the line just 13 seconds
behind the second placed car.
Jenson meanwhile had a snap of oversteer on lap 38 when he
hit standing water in the middle of Bridge and went off the
circuit, bringing his home race to a premature end.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Rubens Barrichello 17 RA108-04 P3 01:33.386
Jenson Button 16 RA108-02 DNF
Weather Clear spells and heavy rain showers
Temperatures Air: 16-18°C Track: 15-23°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. Congratulations Rubens. A fantastic performance
at the team's home race and your first podium for Honda.
A. "It's a great feeling to be back on the podium today
after such an exciting race where the weather conditions really
helped us to get the best out of the car. The most important
decision of the race for us was switching to the extreme wet
tyre when the heavy rain started to fall at half distance.
I had a real moment at Club, going off at high speed and almost
hitting the wall, and that made me realise that we needed
to make a quick decision. After fitting the extreme wets,
I was able to overtake the cars in front easily which was
a great feeling. Making such a crucial decision at a key time
comes from experience and from the team having the confidence
in me to make the call. I would like to say a big thank you
to the team today - to everyone back at the factory and also
in Japan. Life is about learning from your experiences, and
we have been through some tough times over the last couple
of years. But I always had faith that there were good times
ahead and I know there are plenty more to come."
JENSON BUTTON
Q. A disappointing result in front of your home crowd.
Talk us through your race.
A. "It was a crazy race today with the conditions changing
all the time. We had some good pace on the wet tyres for the
first part of the race before the heavy shower which brought
both Rubens and I into the pits for extreme wets on lap 35.
Shortly after that stop, I hit standing water at Bridge which
caused the car to aquaplane off the circuit. I tried to spin
the car round but there was another car coming so I had to
get out of the way, couldn't get the car round far enough
and ended up trapped in the gravel. There's always a bit of
luck involved in this type of race and unfortunately it wasn't
my day for luck today. Congratulations to Rubens on his third
place and first podium for the team."
ROSS BRAWN, Team Principal
Q. A dramatic race in changing conditions has brought
Rubens' first podium for Honda. You must be very pleased?
A. "We are delighted with the result from today's race
and Rubens' first podium for Honda is very well deserved.
He did a magnificent job out there, providing great information
to help put together exactly the right tyre calls and strategy
today. Without the fuel rig problem that we had at the second
pit stops, he would certainly have finished one position higher
in second place. We were aware that rain was forecast for
today, and we had compromised our qualifying settings yesterday
to be better prepared for the wet conditions, a decision which
fully paid off in the race."
Q. What does this result mean for the team?
A. "Scoring our first podium of the season is a huge
boost for the morale of the entire team, everyone here at
the track today and all the people who work so hard back at
the factory. It is doubly rewarding to have achieved this
result at our home race, so close to both of our UK facilities
at Brackley and Bracknell. Additionally, we have secured six
extremely valuable points which opens up the potential to
chase for sixth place in the Constructors' Championship over
the rest of the season."
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