Honda completes Jerez test
The Honda Racing F1 Team was back at the Circuito de Jerez this week for a second consecutive week of testing. Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson were all in attendance as the team continues to develop its two Concept cars, focusing on tyre, engine and aerodynamic performance evaluations.
Overall it was a very positive test for the team which now looks forward to the debut of the new RA106 car at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Wednesday 25 January.
Jenson and Anthony began the test programme on Wednesday although a very cold morning with low track temperatures limited the drivers to installation laps. Once the track had warmed up, both Jenson and Anthony completed set-up programmes, followed by tyre and aerodynamic evaluations. Jenson completed 97 laps setting the fastest time of the day, with Anthony completing 134 laps.
Rubens joined the test on Thursday taking over from Anthony as once again the drivers were limited to short set-up runs by the low temperatures. Rubens completed 62 laps over the day as he continued to work on the set-up of the car and acclimatise himself to the car and the Michelin tyres. Jenson’s programme also consisted of set-up work followed by a tyre evaluation. He completed 93 laps, setting the fastest time of the day for the second day in succession.
Heavy fog around the circuit on Friday meant that no serious running was possible until lunchtime. The afternoon proved far more productive as Jenson and Rubens went out to complete comprehensive tyre programmes. Rubens completed 103 laps, setting the second fastest time, with Jenson completing an impressive 120 laps in the session.
Rubens Barrichello – Fastest lap: 01:18.529 (Friday)
“I am continuing to learn with every day that I spend with the team and am very happy with the progress that we have made over the last two weeks. Even though we started quite late today, we have still been able to have a lot of laps this afternoon and seen some good results. I hope that my input helps the team continue the development and progress further when we have the new car available next week.”
Jenson Button – Fastest lap: 01:18.388 (Wednesday)
"Testing went really well this week, particularly taking into account the lack of running time in the mornings. I completed a lot of laps as we are focusing mainly on tyre testing and reliability work at the moment. This is our last test with the Concept car and I’m really looking forward to testing the new car next week.”
Anthony Davidson – Fastest lap: 01:18.669 (Wenesday)
“I had a good day on Wednesday completing 134 laps as we focused mainly on tyre testing. The car was reliable again and our long runs were by far the best of all the cars running on Wednesday. The car seemed really strong after ten laps or so and we did a lot of work on the pace of the car over the long runs. We saw some really good results so I was very happy with the day’s work. It’s promising that we seem to have the pace at the moment because naturally the new car will be even faster. I’m
