Honda previews European GP

The Honda Racing F1 Team heads to the historic Nürburgring in Germany this week for round five of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. After a challenging race in Imola, the team has been working hard at the Operations Centre in Brackley and on the test track at Silverstone to further develop the RA106 race car and improve its competitiveness.

A successful three-day test with race drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, plus third driver Anthony Davidson, has left the team feeling positive as it heads towards the back to back European and Spanish Grands Prix.

Rubens Barrichello "I always enjoy going to the Nürburgring, particularly as it is one of the tracks where I achieved a win, in 2002. It is a challenging circuit for the drivers and has some interesting characteristics like great high-speed corners and interesting undulations. It's normally very cold when we go there so we are expecting all the efforts that we have made on our tyre-warming issues over the last few tests to pay off. We also worked really hard at Silverstone this week on the set-up of the car, and seeing the results, we are hoping for a strong performance at the Nürburgring."

Jenson Button "We had a positive test at Silverstone this week in which we made good progress and took another step closer to the competition. Apart from a podium at the Nürburgring two years ago, I haven't had that much success at this track. It's a very low grip circuit with a lot of corners off-camber so when you arrive into the corner, it's vital to get the correct line. I think we are starting to see our race pace improve relative to our strong qualifying pace and we should feel positive as we head to Germany."

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director "We had a productive test at Silverstone which we hope will improve our performance for Nürburgring. As a result of this test and despite the disappointing end result in Imola, the team is going into the weekend feeling positive. Of course, the true measure of our competitiveness will only emerge on Sunday."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development "We made our F1 debut at the old Nürburgring in 1964 and we are determined to demonstrate the true strength of the RA106 chassis and engine package next weekend."

Nürburgring, Germany

Race Distance 60 laps
Circuit Length 3.199 miles (5.148 kms)

Germany's Nürburgring is decidedly tame by comparison to its intimidating 14 mile, 174 corner predecessor. Further changes to the old track came in 2002 when the first turn was reprofiled to cut into the infield and around a new stadium section, slowing the track even more, but yielding another overtaking spot.

The circuit remains a fairly high downforce track that is light on both brakes and tyres. To achieve a competitive lap time here requires all the normal chassis attributes: good traction (particularly out of the hairpins), good chassis balance and stability under braking, and the best possible compromise between downforce and straight-line speed.

The Nürburgring has the full mixture of slow through to high-speed corners, from the revised first turn, hairpin and chicane, to the double medium-speed 'S' bends and the very high speed 'S' after the hairpin. It also features a lot of undulation change, which is unusual for most modern circuits. As the circuit is situated close to the Eifel Mountains, weather can often play a major role in the outcome of races.