2005 Bahrain GP Friday Practice
B.A.R Honda Press Information Friday 1 April 2005 STEADY PROGRESS AT SAKHIR FOR B.A.R HONDA A productive first day of running for Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda at Sakhir. Jenson Button completes 28 laps, while Takuma Sato has reliability issues en route to 12th fastest. ------------------------------------------------ It was a day of mixed fortunes for the B.A.R Honda team in Bahrain. On the one hand Jenson Button worked methodically through a tyre comparison programme to end the day ninth fastest, after suffering no mechanical issues; on the other, Takuma Sato had a more frustrating time. He suffered problems in both one-hour sessions. In the first he had a gear selection problem, which the team solved by attaching the gearbox from the spare car onto Taku’s race-car. Then, early in the second session, Taku spun then the engine cut out during the anti-stall. Taku rejoined at the end of the session for two further timed laps and was able to finish the day just 0.2s shy of team-mate Button. The 3.36-mile Sakhir circuit has been good to B.A.R Honda in the past – the team had two cars in the points last year with Jenson on the podium – and the early signs are that the B.A.R Honda 007 has a good basic set-up for this year’s race. Jenson’s fastest lap today was 0.8s slower than Michael Schumacher’s best in the new Ferrari F2005, which is making its competitive debut this weekend. And Schumacher was 2.4s shy of McLaren’s third driver Alex Wurz at the top of the timesheets. From a tyre perspective, the omens are good for B.A.R Honda’s technical partner Michelin. The track temperature in Bahrain is almost identical to that in Malaysia (50 degrees), where it dominated the second race of the World Championship and, today, Michael Schumacher was the only Bridgestone runner in the top17 cars. JENSON BUTTON Free Practice 1 – Position: 9th / Fastest lap time: 1:34.002 Free Practice 2 – Position: 9th / Fastest lap time: 1:33.037 “The track conditions were typically dirty so we didn’t get much running this morning. This afternoon we worked through our usual programme and completed all of our test items focusing on tyre work and long run performance. We still have some work to do with the data but generally I’m pleased that we have made a generally good start to the weekend.” TAKUMA SATO Free Practice 1 – Position: 20th / No recorded time Free Practice 2 – Position: 12th / Fastest lap time: 1:33.205 "It is good to be back in the car again after I was forced to miss the Malaysian Grand Prix. However, it has not been the best start to the Bahrain weekend for us. We had a gearbox problem this morning so I missed most of the session. Once we could get started on our programme, I experienced a rear stability problem because of the low grip and spun, then the engine cut out during the anti-stall. Despite our problems we did complete two tyre comparisons so we can carry that progress through to tomorrow.” GEOFFREY WILLIS, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR “It was rather a mixed day for the team with Jenson’s day going to plan but Takuma losing his run in the first session with a gear shift problem and then losing much of the second session when he stopped after a spin when his engine stalled while he tried to pull away. We were able to recover the car in time for him to complete a short run at the end of the session. Although we are reasonably happy with our pace we still need to work on the set up overnight to improve the handling.” SHUHEI NAKAMOTO, ENGINEERING DIRECTOR, HONDA RACING DEVELOPMENT “Overall we have had a productive day and learnt a lot. Taku unfortunately didn't manage as much running as we would have liked because of the engine stall but Jenson managed a full programme.” Bahrain GP Practice 1 1 Ricardo Zonta (Toyota) 1:31.449 2 Michael Schumacher ( Ferrari) 1:32.120 3 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull Racing) 1:32.509 4 Alexander Wurz (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:33.106 5 Rubens Barrichello ( Ferrari) 1:33.111 6 Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:33.270 7 Mark Webber (Williams-BMW) 1:33.427 8 Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:33.836 9 Jenson Button (B.A.R Honda) 1:34.002 10 Nick Heidfeld (Williams-BMW) 1:34.722 20 Takuma Sato (B.A.R Honda) No time Bahrain GP Practice 2 1 Alexander Wurz 1:30.695 2 Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:31.969 3 Vitantonio Liuzzi 1:32.319 4 Pedro de la Rosa 1:32.333 5 Michael Schumacher 1:32.431 6 Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:32.595 7 Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 1:32.708 8 Kimi Räikkönen 1:32.988 9 Jenson Button 1:33.037 10 Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 1:33.077 12 Takuma Sato 1:33.205