Another disappointing race for Honda pair

The Honda Racing F1 Team endured a frustrating race in at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal today, where Rubens Barrichello finished in 12th position and Jenson Button was left on the grid with a gear selection problem.

The Canadian Grand Prix proved to be one of the most dramatic races in recent years, with no fewer than four safety car periods and only 12 out of 22 cars taking the chequered flag. It proved one safety car too many for the Honda team, compromising a strategy which would have brought Rubens home well into the points.

Rubens Barrichello “It was a crazy race today and we could have benefited from all the incidents and retirements to get into the points. However the last safety car ruined our strategy, which could have brought us home in fifth position. After Kubica’s accident in the middle of the race, my thoughts were with him. You never want to see another driver get hurt in that way in front of you. I am just pleased he is okay. For us, this is a race we have to put behind us and turn our attentions to Indianapolis."

Jenson Button “I went to select first gear at the start but there was nothing. I kept switching from neutral to first on the grid to try to clear the problem but it just wasn’t happening. The same thing happened when we tried to start from the pitlane. My race was over before it began which is obviously massively frustrating and that’s all we can say really.”

Jacky Eeckelaert, Engineering Director “It goes without saying that this has been a very disappointing race for us. First, Jenson had a gear selection problem off the line and was unable to start the race. Rubens drove well in very dramatic circumstances and did well to fight his way up to third place. We had planned our second pitstop for quite late in the race in order to minimise the number of laps we completed on the option tyre. Unfortunately the safety car came out again just before that stop, which bunched the field back up. Without that safety car, Rubens would have dropped from third to fifth place but the final safety car consigned him to 12th position. On a positive note we were all pleased to hear that Robert Kubica escaped serious injury after what was a very nasty accident.”