Double points for Honda
The Honda Racing F1 Team scored its first double points haul of the season in this afternoon's Spanish Grand Prix. The 66-lap race ended with Jenson Button in sixth place and Rubens Barrichello in seventh.
At the start, Jenson, who had qualified eighth, slotted in behind Rubens on the drag down to the first corner. They both outbraked the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli into Turn 1 and they ended the opening lap in sixth and seventh places.
Rubens was never more than one second ahead of Jenson throughout the opening stint, and when he made his first pitstop on lap 24, Jenson took advantage of the clean air to pull out a gap. Jenson pitted on lap 25 and exited the pitlane comfortably ahead of his team-mate.
Jenson and Rubens completed the middle stint of the race in sixth and seventh places, with Jenson able to lap slightly quicker than his team-mate and gain on fourth-placed Kimi Raikkonen.
Rubens was again the first of the Honda Racing F1 Team's two drivers to pit at the second stops. He came in on lap 41 and Jenson pitted one lap later. Rubens rejoined the race in eighth place and Jenson in sixth, but Rubens jumped up to seventh when Nick Heidfeld made his second stop.
The Honda Racing F1 Team now turns its attention to the Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place on 28 May. By way of preparation, the team will test at the twisty Vallelunga circuit in Italy next week.
Jenson Button “The car worked well and it was pretty much a faultless race, although I was behind Rubens in the first stint and Raikkonen was able to pull away. As soon as I had clear air the car worked very well and the balance was good - probably the best it has been since Malaysia. I was quite happy, reeling in Raikkonen every lap by a tenth or two tenths but it would have been a closer fight had I not been hampered by problems that stemmed from yesterday’s qualifying. I’m looking forward to Monaco and testing at Vallelunga next week in preparation for that race.”
Rubens Barrichello “It was a tough race but two cars in the points is not a bad result considering the strength of the competition. I lost a place off the start and then lost a bit of time because of some fuel pressure problems on my in-lap. After that, things ran pretty much according to plan, apart from a vibration in the last stint which again lost me some time. Now we have to focus on improving for Monaco because it’s a track where we can be strong.”
