Honda drivers relishing Indy test
The Honda Racing F1 Team now heads south from Canada to the United States for Round 10 of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. The second race in the mid-season double-header in North America is staged at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Following the events of the 2005 United States Grand Prix, all of the Formula One teams will be keen to put on an exciting show for the thousands of motor racing fans attending over the weekend.
“Indianapolis has such a strong motor racing heritage and traditionally puts on a great show so I hope that the race weekend goes really well this year for all the fans coming to watch,” says Rubens Barrichello who finished second last year. "I really enjoy racing in the United States and have a lot of friends based there so I always look forward to this particular race. The track itself is a lot of fun with some great overtaking places and it feels good to drive through the first corner of the oval banking flat out, although it is an easy corner for us in an F1 car.”
After suffering his first retirement since joining Honda in Canada, Rubens will be looking to bounce back at Indy. “I had a disappointing race in Montreal so we will be hoping for better this weekend, but it will be tough for us until we return to testing and work on improving the performance of the car."
Jenson Button is equally determined to put in a good performance at the famous Indiana speedway, both for himself and the fans. "It's always exciting to race at a venue which has such a strong history and Indianapolis always has a great atmosphere,” he confirms. “The circuit itself is very slow with the tight in-field section. I generally prefer fast flowing circuits but you can overtake around here, which should make for some exciting racing for the fans. We will be using different tyres at Indy to those we used last weekend in Montreal so I am hoping that we can have a better race there. I also hope that we can give the American public a really good race this year."
