Friday Assessment – Nothing Dazzling for Honda

The Honda team thus began its last meeting of the season in Brazil without achieving any real exploits. The first session was wet. The drivers ended the session in 11th place for Barrichello and 12th place for Button.

The track was still wet at the start of the second session but a dry line appeared, allowing the drivers to use dry tires for the first time. They completed 89 laps between them. Rubens set the best time at 1:13.892, placing him in 13th position, while Jenson finished the day just behind in 14th place.

Rubens Barrichello – 11th and 13th

We had two good sessions today; despite the track conditions, we were able to work on improving the car in both wet and dry situations. On my last lap this afternoon, I got caught in traffic, which is unfortunate because I felt I could extract a bit more performance from the car.

Overall, we have made a positive start which gives me reason to be optimistic for the rest of the weekend. Regarding the new track at Interlagos, it has improved a lot and is less bumpy than before.

Jenson Button – 12th and 14th

« Thanks to a wet session this morning and a drying track this afternoon, we were able to work through different setups today. I struggled with a lack of grip in the second session. »

« We still have work to do to find the best setup in dry conditions and improve the car’s balance. We were able to ensure a good number of laps, which allowed us to collect enough data to work with. »

Jacky Eeckelaert – Technical Director

The first session this morning was wet, which allowed us to work on cars that needed to run in those conditions. Both drivers indicated that the new track surface was significantly less bumpy. We were able to switch to dry tire conditions and start our setup work.

« As expected, we encountered some issues with the tire option. If conditions remain dry for the rest of the weekend, we expect more grip, which would make life easier with the tire option. »