Formula One: Honda takes best qualifying with Villeneuve 4th in Monza
10 September 2000
Honda will start its 200th Formula One race from the second row of the grid after Jacques Villeneuve claimed the best ever qualifying position for Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda. Boosted by the performance of the latest specification Honda engine, developed specifically for the high-speed Monza circuit, Villeneuve was able to get among the front-runners and earn himself fourth position on the grid for tomorrow's race. Team mate Ricardo Zonta recorded the fastest speed of the day down the main straight, exceeding 352 km/h, but suffered an electrical problem on his second flying lap. After returning to the pits to take the T-car, which had been set up for Villeneuve, just ten minutes remained of the hour-long session and the Brazilian could only improve to 17th position. Jacques Villeneuve Position: 4th 1min 24.238sec "It feels great to qualify fourth - the team's best ever position. There was no additional pressure because this is Honda's 200th race, but Honda did produce a qualifying engine for today. The engine was strong and the car felt really well balanced. Hopefully we will be able to challenge for a podium finish tomorrow, but a good start is going to be really important. You don't want to get caught in the middle of the pack going into the first corner, because there will be wheel-banging for sure and someone is going to go off." Ricardo Zonta Position: 17th 1min 25.337sec "I am really disappointed because I could definitely have been in the top six as well as Jacques. We were really quick through the traps, the engine was great and we had made some improvements to the car, so it was looking very good. Then we had an electrical warning come on and I had to stop on the track. I tried to improve again but the T-car was set up for Jacques and we could not achieve the position that we deserved." Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D "We are very pleased with today's performance. We prepared specially for this race with new settings and ideas designed for this power circuit. Jacques' fourth place puts us among the top two teams and gives us a lot of confidence in the technology that we have applied in our engines. It was a shame that Ricardo was not able to make the most of the speed he showed in the morning session when he was very quick." 1999 Monza GP winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen will start tomorrow's race from eighth position for Jordan Mugen-Honda. Team mate Jarno Trulli continued his excellent form at his home Grand Prix to record the sixth fastest time of the day.