2008 GERMAN GRAND PRIX HOCKENHEIM 18 JULY
FREE PRACTICE
The Honda Racing F1 Team completed the first two free practice
sessions at Hockenheim today in preparation for this weekend's
German Grand Prix. The track was wet for the majority of the
morning session, before drying out by the start of the afternoon,
when Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello finished the day
in 13th and 14th positions respectively.
Both drivers used the Bridgestone Potenza wet tyres first
thing this morning, before switching to dry tyres when a dry
line appeared. Jenson ended the first session in 12th place,
after completing a total of 28 laps and setting a best time
of 1:17.131s. Rubens was 0.4s slower than his team-mate after
24 laps of the 4.574km (2.842-mile) track.
In dry conditions this afternoon, both drivers lapped significantly
quicker than this morning. Jenson completed 38 laps to set
a best time of 1:16.532s, while Rubens ended the day 0.1s
slower than his team-mate after doing 28 laps.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Free Practice 1 Free Practice
2
Jenson Button 16 RA108-02 28 laps 01:17.131 P12 38 laps 01:16.542
P13
Rubens Barrichello 17 RA108-04 24 laps 01:17.500 P16 28 laps
01:16.677 P14
Weather Cool and overcast
Temperatures Air: 16-23°C Track: 16-36°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. What issues did you face during the practice sessions
today?
A. "We found a reasonable balance on the car during the
morning session, however unfortunately we struggled to continue
the progress this afternoon. The car had a real lack of grip
in the slightly warmer afternoon temperatures, with the rear
in particular feeling unstable. It was a tough session as
we tried to work out the problem and we have a lot of work
to do overnight to get the car back to a driveable set-up."
JENSON BUTTON
Q. How was your day's running today?
A. "A busy but productive practice for us today. We made
some improvements to the balance and set-up of the car in
both sessions, in addition to conducting an evaluation of
the prime and option tyres. However I am not completely happy
with the balance, so we have some work ahead of us before
qualifying."
STEVE CLARK
Head of Race & Test Engineering
Q. You had a good test at the Hockenheim circuit last week.
How do the track conditions compare today?
A. "The track has lost a lot of grip since the test last
week due to the rain over the last few days. This has highlighted
a number of issues which were not apparent during the test
with braking stability and poor traction being our biggest
challenges today. There is no doubt that we are not alone
in experiencing this situation, however we do seem to suffer
more than our competitors in low grip situations. On the positive
side, as the track improves over the weekend, we expect that
to be reflected in our performance."
Q. How will you progress from here and are you expecting the
weather to be a factor this weekend?
A. "As always, we will be thoroughly analysing all of
the data this evening to improve the car tomorrow. We believe
that we understand the cause of Rubens' handling issues today
and this will be fixed overnight. The changeable weather conditions
may play a part over the rest of the weekend and as seen during
the last race at Silverstone, we have had some of our best
results in the wet."
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