Honda tests new aero developments at Sakhir
The Honda Racing F1 Team today completed the first of two final pre-season tests which are being held at the Bahrain International Circuit. Testing outside of Europe for the first time this year, race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took part in all three days of running, maximising their track time in the new RA107 car before the Formula One season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March.
Jenson gave the latest new chassis its first outing on Thursday. After initial set-up work, he ran through an aero programme alongside new tyre runs, covering 84 laps. Rubens concentrated on finding a good set-up before completing long tyre runs over a race distance for a total of 102 laps.
Jenson spent the second day of the test working through an aero evaluation, followed by a race simulation, completing 117 laps. Rubens continued to focus on chassis set-up in his car alongside an aero programme, completing 73 laps.
On the final day, both drivers spent the morning concentrating on aero evaluations and chassis work. Jenson continued his aero programme into the afternoon session with Rubens running through a full race simulation. Jenson completed 79 laps with Rubens totalling 130 laps.
The Honda Racing F1 Team will resume testing in Bahrain on Tuesday 27 February.
Jenson Button “This week we have continued our programme of set-up work on the car and assessed some new aero parts which we are running for the first time. We also completed a number of race distance simulations which went smoothly. We have one final test now before the start of the season so I’m looking forward to next week and having some more new parts to test.”
Rubens Barrichello “It’s been a good week in Bahrain for us and we have completed all the mileage that we had planned. The car proved reliable and it also seems to work well in the hot temperatures so we have been more competitive here. We have still got some fine-tuning to do on the car as the balance is not quite there yet, so next week’s test will be important to help us resolve this before the season starts.”
Jacky Eeckelaert, Engineering Director “The first Bahrain test this week has given both Jenson and Rubens the opportunity to test some new aerodynamic developments which will be used for the first race of the season in Melbourne. Both drivers also completed full race simulation exercises in the hot track temperatures which has provided useful information for us. The test programme has gone well and we look forward to continuing the development with further new parts arriving for next week.”
