2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
SEPANG - QUALIFYING
The Honda Racing F1 Team enjoyed a solid qualifying session
in Malaysia today, once again coming close to achieving a
position in the top 10. Jenson Button will start tomorrow's
Malaysian Grand Prix from 11th place and Rubens Barrichello
from 14th.
With the mid-field so close this season, it was a very intense
qualifying session from start-to-finish. Every tenth of a
second counted as the drivers progressed from Q1 to Q2, and
Jenson only just missed out on a Q3 position.
Both drivers completed three runs in Q1 and they managed
to improve their lap times on each occasion. They ended Q1
in 10th and 16th positions respectively. In Q2 the drivers
completed two runs each and again improved from lap-to-lap.
Jenson's fastest lap of 1:35.208s was just 0.068s shy of Fernando
Alonso in 10th, while Rubens ended the day in 14th position.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Free Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying
2 Qualifying 3
Jenson Button 16 RA108-02 P8 P10 01:35.847 P11 01:35.208 Did
not qualify
Rubens Barrichello 17 RA108-04 P22 P16 01:36.198 P14 01:35.622
Did not qualify
Weather Hot and sunny
Temperatures Air: 28-29°C Track: 35-44°C
JENSON BUTTON
Q. Are you pleased with your qualifying performance
today?
A. "I'm happy with P11 and to be starting on the right
side of the grid for the race. The weather was looking changeable
with the risk of rain, so we ran early in both sessions to
get a banker time in. My final run in the second session was
on the option tyres and I'm really happy with the lap as we
just missed out on going through by less than 0.1sec."
Q. What were the main challenges today?
A. "The main challenge was choosing between the prime
and the option tyre. I was struggling to get the options to
work so I was running on the primes for most of the session
but pretty much everyone else was on the option tyre. So with
that much option rubber going down on the track, we had to
give it a go for my last run in Q2, and we were 0.25s quicker.
That was as quick as the car is today and I put in a good
lap, so I'm pleased with our position."
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. How do you feel about your performance and resulting
position today?
A. "It was unfortunate that we had a problem this morning
with the gear selection which limited my running and therefore
when you go into qualifying, you are playing catch-up all
the time. However it was a good effort this afternoon and
I'm happy with how our session developed to eventually finish
in 14th position. It would have been nice to have more time
this morning to set the car up a little better but we made
the best of a difficult situation."
Q. With today's changeable conditions also predicted
for the race, how do you think you will fare?
A. "If the changeable weather continues into tomorrow,
then being outside of the top ten provides more of an option
to fine tune the strategy. Considering my lack of practice
this morning, I'm pleased with my qualifying and 14th is a
good position from which to attack the points tomorrow."
STEVE CLARK
Head of Race & Test Engineering
Q. What were the engineering challenges today?
A. "Rubens had a damaged sixth gear at the start of free
practice which we were able to repair under FIA regulations
without penalty. We stopped running to avoid further damage
which might have resulted in a gearbox change and resulting
five place penalty. Rubens was forced to rely on Jenson's
running and set-up changes, which obviously made qualifying
difficult for him. Under the circumstances Rubens did a very
good job even getting to Q2 given that the midfield was so
close. Jenson didn't have as good a balance with today's track
conditions and our car seems more suited to the prime tyre
than the option. In qualifying the option tyre was the faster
of the two but we were unable to get the most from it."
Q. What kind of race do you think we will see at Sepang
tomorrow?
A. "The forecast is for the possibility of rain and for
us a wet race would certainly suit our starting grid slots
of P11 and P14. It is also our best chance of scoring points.
If the conditions remain dry it will probably be a very tight
race in the midfield and we would expect most people to two
stop and probably at the same point in the race."
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