Saturday Report – Honda saves the day with Button!

Honda finds itself once again in a peculiar position because Barrichello couldn’t reach the second part of the qualifying session while Button, as very often, made it to the super pole.

The Japanese team admits that the cars are performing at their maximum but managed to limit the damage with Button, who finishes 10th. However, Barrichello is still far from his past results with Ferrari, and he will be 18th on the starting grid for a race that promises to be disrupted by rain…

Jenson Button – 13th and 10th

“I am happy, and honestly amazed, to be in the top ten once again this weekend. This was unexpected but we managed to make the most of the car today and it allowed me to secure the best position I could hope for. Which is somewhat a feeling of frustration.”

“The forecasts for tomorrow seem to be heading towards another wet race, so we will each give our best to get as close as possible to the points.”

Rubens Barrichello – 18th and 17th

“I got a good lap time in Q1 today but unfortunately we just missed the chance to reach Q2.”

“There was really a tiny difference between the different drivers at the level I find myself, so it’s frustrating to have missed Q2 like that. It will be interesting to see what the weather conditions bring for tomorrow, and we’ll just have to see what improvements we might be able to make by then.”

Jacky Ecckelaert – Technical Director

“In the tests this morning, we made a number of setup changes to prepare for this afternoon’s qualifying. The track conditions were quite similar to yesterday, although there was a stronger wind.”

“In qualifying, we were amazed at how close the times were between all the cars. Unfortunately, Rubens missed the chance to go to Q2 by 0.02s after a great effort that saw him compete with both Renaults.”

“Jenson did an excellent job reaching the superpole and ultimately it’s 10th place and we are all very happy with what he was able to achieve with the car.”