Formula 1 News

2008 British GP, Qualifying: Honda quotes 

Steve Clark: “The car performed as expected this morning in both wet and dry conditions, which was just outside the top ten. Qualifying started with a little fluster as there were showers predicted so everyone rushed out to get a dry lap in. In the melée we found ourselves in the drop-out zone when the shower eventually came. We were fortunate that it dried in time for another run but the improvement was not enough to carry us through to Q2. The drivers did not have the perfect lap or balance, but in reality, had we made Q2, I don’t believe we had the pace to progress further in these conditions. Very little can be changed with the car due to parc ferme regulations. In any case I don’t think that we would alter the cars’ set-up very much as the basic balance is good following the test here. The strategy will be adjusted to suit our grid position, although in a dry race points will be difficult. Rain is still predicted however, which could make our chances much more interesting.”

Jenson Button: “It was a disappointing qualifying session today for my home Grand Prix. The brief rain shower did come just at the wrong moment for us as my final run on the completely dry track was compromised by traffic through Becketts, which left me in 18th when the shower began. So I had to go out right at the end of the session to try to improve regardless of the conditions. Unfortunately I couldn’t get heat into my tyres through the first sector, which is always difficult, but even more so when the track was still slippery. I made a little bit of progress to jump Rosberg into 17th but not enough to make it into Q2. It’s disappointing, but we know the car is not that competitive in the dry. It’ll be a tough race but you can make progress here during the race, particularly if we have the expected wet conditions.”

Rubens Barrichello: “It’s unfortunate that we were not able to progress further in qualifying today and I’m afraid that reflects the true potential of the car on a dry track. Out on the circuit, I thought we were through in 15th when it began to rain, but unfortunately it was just raining in the section of track that I was on and others were able to improve further round the lap, dropping me to 16th. I wasn’t able to improve on my final lap at the end of the session as I had too much understeer in the car and the tyres were graining on the damp surface. We’re expecting wet conditions for the race tomorrow which should make it exciting and open up possibilities if we can stay out of trouble.”

source: Honda Racing