10/04/2007
NEWS STORY
The Honda Racing F1 Team heads from Malaysia to similarly hot and sunny climes in the Middle East this week for Round Three of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
With just one week between races and no opportunity for testing, the trackside team will continue to focus on extracting as much performance as possible from the RA107 for the next race, whilst back at Honda's three bases of operation at Tochigi in Japan, and Brackley and Bracknell in the UK, development work continues apace in preparation for the start of the European season.
Shuhei Nakamoto - Senior Technical Director: "In Malaysia both Rubens and Jenson were able to finish in a good position considering their starting positions. Although our car is not competitive at the moment, we were able to extract the maximum performance possible. As we are unable to test before Bahrain we should expect another tough race but back in the factory we are working relentlessly on developments which should enable us to make steady improvements once we begin the European season."
Rubens Barrichello: "With no time to develop the car for the next race, our focus will be on doing the best job possible with what we have right now. Despite the problems we have with the car, we can still do better, particularly in terms of our qualifying performance. If we can work on that it is possible to get both cars in the top ten and closer to the points so there is progress to be made whilst we're working on the bigger developments back at the factory."
Jenson Button: "Racing in Bahrain is always a great experience and it's a circuit that I really enjoy driving. There are some good fast flowing sections where you can really push the car through the two chicanes at turns four and five and later through the quick left and right at turns nine and ten. There are also several overtaking opportunities, particularly at turn one after the long straight, where you can make up crucial ground as people tend to brake surprisingly early.
"Confidence under braking is the key to a quick lap around Bahrain. You need to believe in the car's performance and have no doubts that you can stop effectively. The most challenging sector is probably turn fourteen which has a very quick approach where you brake as you turn into the corner, so you have to be careful not to lock the inside front wheel. The sand blowing onto the tarmac can be a challenge as you never know how the grip levels will change from lap to lap.
"As a country I really like Bahrain because it's quiet, chilled and you can get away from everything in a wonderful climate. I'm having a house built out there at the moment which should be ready in time for next year's race."