GP d'Australie: essais et courses

Barrichello cautious about Honda progress
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, March 13th 2007, 08:56 GMT



Rubens Barrichello is hopeful that a major upgrade to his Honda Racing car planned for the Malaysian Grand Prix will provide a big boost to his team's performance - but has warned the team are still a long way from turning their RA107 into a race winner.

Aerodynamic and suspension modifications are being made to the Honda for the pre-Malaysian Grand Prix test at Sepang, and Barrichello is optimistic that they will help unleash more speed from his car.

But he has told autosport.com that he thinks it will take some time to overcome other issues with the RA107 - including brake stability problems - that have emerged during winter testing.

"The first race will be what it will be," said Barrichello, who was reluctant to make any predictions about how Honda will fare in Australia this weekend.

"Obviously, we know where the problem is - but it's really difficult to address it. There has been some things happening in the tunnel back at the factory with the team really working to make it happen.

"At the Malaysia test we're going to have lots of things to try. The important thing is to go on and find what makes the car better.

"The times that we can set with the problems we have, if we fix those problems we're going to go forwards by a big margin. So it depends - it's not going to be like going to the oven and opening the door and finding the food is cooked. And it's probably going to cause some other problems. It's a cycle that you have to grab it whenever it's available."

Although team boss Nick Fry said at the recent launch of his team's new livery that he was convinced the RA107 will be a winner, Barrichello is less certain.

"What I say is different - I take it from the other side, which is a bit frustrating. The car is not a bad car compared to some of the others I've driven in the past. You can see that it's not a bad car - but to come a race winner? We are still a long way off.

"It's the second V8 car that I've driven and it's better than last year's. But it's still a long way from being perfect like the Ferraris used to be."

stef a écrit:Y'avait pas une conférence de presse aujourd'hui à Tokyo ? Muku ?

By Phil Huff - March 13 2007

Jenson Button has brushed Damon Hill's recent comments aside, optimistically suggesting that Honda Racing F1 can still lead him to a world title.

"I don't believe Honda will be a championship-winning team this year," Hill said last week. "Therefore, if he wants to be champion, which I believe he does, and he is good enough, he has to have a plan for the next few years."

Jenson was quick to a respond, using a Honda press event in Tokyo to say "It's very easy to say those sorts of things from the outside. He didn't have those comments last season. We were very strong last season and won a race in Hungary which was a first for the team and for myself.

"Last season he was very positive and made some positive comments... that I could be a world champion of the future. Now it's the opposite and it's a little bit negative."

While a title is looking very unlikely this year, Jenson firmly believes the situation will improve, and Honda Racing F1 can reach their goal in time.

"We've got to get our heads down and improve the car," said the Briton, "but I'm very happy with where I am. We are growing as a team all the time. It's a fantastic atmosphere and I think we will be challenging for the world championship in the future.

"I'm very sure of that."

Downbeat Button targets top 10 finish

By Miles Evans Thursday, March 15th 2007, 08:12 GMT


Jenson Button all but wrote off Honda's chances of making a winning start to the 2007 season in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old Briton enjoyed something of a breakthrough year in 2006, claiming his first race win at the 113th attempt and finishing the season in a flurry by outscoring all other drivers during the last six races of the campaign.

But Honda had failed to press on in the close season, Button told reporters on Thursday, and he and teammate Rubens Barrichello were left with an uphill task to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Renault and McLaren at Albert Park.

"It's not a nice way to start a season. Arriving with a car that isn't challenging for victory hurts," said Button, who said his chances of emulating last season's pole position in Melbourne were slim.

"Here I can't see us qualifying in the top 10. I think if we have a good race - because we are very reliable and some of the teams aren't - I can see us finishing in the top 10. We're not going to get on the podium, we're not going to win the race."

Honda, who finished fourth in the title race last year, have been struggling during testing, while Button missed some of the close season after cracking his ribs during a karting accident.

He was disappointed the team had been unable to capitalise on the barnstorming finish to 2006.

"You're always hoping you're going to have a car that's capable of winning races. After last year's performance towards the end of the year, we didn't have the best car but we were in the top three teams, I'd say."

Button said the weekend would be used as extended test session for his struggling team.

"It's an important race but it's not about the end result," Button said.

"We've got to look at the areas where we're lacking and the areas where we need to work on compared to the top teams. It's more of a big test session for us, to learn why we're so far off."

Button said improvements in aerodynamics, which may be seen in the car by the second race of the season in Malaysia next month, would bring his team back to the field.

stef a écrit:T'as oublié ton prono pour la grille. Moi aussi, d'ailleurs.

15 et 17, 17 et 19 ?

iaka a écrit:Ca part mal pour Honda ce vendredi !

Ferrari devant !
McLaren pas (trop) loin.
Ensuite Renault et BMW, pour l'instant la hiérarchie de l'hiver est très respecté (avec une BMW un peu en baisse, comme prévu).
Honda est très loin, derrière Super Aguri !
Espérons que demain ce sera mieux ???... et surtout dimanche !

stef a écrit:Mai son est plus largués en vitesse de pointe.

SAD a écrit:Renault est mieux qu'on ne le pense.
Les qualifs seront pas terribles, mais, s'il n'y a pas à nouveau un souci de fiabilité, on* jouera la victoire.





(*ON = je fais bloc avec Renault ; ILS = cette équipe n'est pas en forme ) .