Honda F1 free practice
7 October 2000
FIA Formula 1 World Championship - Round 16 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka Friday Free Practice FANS FLOCK TO SUZUKA TO CELEBRATE HONDA'S RETURN TO F1 Friday 6 October 2000 After an eight-year absence, Honda's return to Formula One was complete today as the company arrived at its own Suzuka circuit in preparation for Honda's first Japanese Grand Prix since 1992. Boosted by the support of the local fans who lined the entrance to the track this morning, Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta delivered the ninth and tenth fastest times in today's two practice sessions. Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda spent free practice working on the set-up of the cars to ensure a competitive showing during the coming weekend. Both Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta made good progress with the handling of their cars around the demanding 5.86km track. The specially prepared Suzuka specification Honda RA000E engine will be fitted to both cars overnight and will provide a boost in horsepower and performance for tomorrow's qualifying session. Jacques Villeneuve Position: 9th 1min 39.669sec "I'm not sure how representative the times are as not many people ran with new tyres today. The new engine goes in the car for tomorrow, but we still need to improve the set-up to make up more time. I'm not sure how we are going to go in qualifying - anything is possible but I hope we can pull something out of the bag. I really like this track but it has never gone very well for me in the race. I hope that will change this year." Ricardo Zonta Position: 10th 1min 39.887sec "I think we made some good progress today. We improved the car during the two sessions and when we put new tyres on we found nearly two seconds. The track is pretty good and not too slippery. I think we can make some improvements all round and the new engine will help us find some more speed for tomorrow." Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D "Today we were concentrating on finding the best setting for this circuit, so overall the result was pretty good. From tomorrow we will run with the Suzuka specification engine, so we hope to see a good result from the rest of the weekend." Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen had a very constructive first day with Jordan Mugen-Honda, finishing the day in sixth and seventh places respectively.