Formula One: Bar Honda qualifies both cars in top seven at Austria
16 July 2000
With both drivers in the top seven, Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda today recorded its best ever qualifying session. Ricardo Zonta was delighted to secure his personal best grid position for a Formula One race and will start tomorrow's Austrian Grand Prix from sixth place. Jacques Villeneuve was just one position behind, completing a second excellent day for the Honda-powered team at the A1 Ring. Zonta was immediately on the pace, as he has been all weekend; he initially set the fastest time of all, then went second on his next run. He was not able to improve his time on his final attempt, but with almost half the period still remaining, it was good enough to hold off the challenge of his rivals and the Brazilian claimed his best ever grid position in 22 races. Villeneuve consistently improved his times during the qualifying hour and the BAR Honda was again amongst the fastest through the speed traps, but with 0.019 seconds separating positions five to eight, Villeneuve took seventh position, trailing his team mate by just 0.002 seconds. Ricardo Zonta Position: 6th 1min 11.647sec "I am really happy with my best qualifying result in two years of F1. I have had no problems all weekend and we had a good set-up that allowed me to focus on the driving. This is a circuit where power is very important and Honda's help has enabled us to improve our performance here from last year and get both cars in the top seven. Jacques is one of the best qualifiers around, so it is good for my confidence to be up with his time. I'm looking forward to the race and I hope this weekend will continue to go well for me and the team." Jacques Villeneuve Position: 7th 1min 11.649sec "I am a bit disappointed with my own qualifying, but it is a really good result for the team. Both cars are quick and although we are not consistently the best of the rest yet, it is very encouraging. We tried to do four timed laps on the opening stint and it was just too much for the tyres, then on my last run, I had to back off because of yellow flags. I'll try to start the race tomorrow like I have done the others and we should have another good chance of points." Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D "We have achieved a good result today, but we had hoped for better. The gap to the pole position is bigger than we had anticipated and for this reason we are not entirely satisfied. Both drivers did a very good job, especially Ricardo and we are pleased for him. The weekend has so far gone according to plan and the team has worked very well together." Jordan Mugen Honda had mixed fortunes today. Jarno Trulli secured a strong fifth position and will line up immediately behind the Ferraris, but Heinz-Harald Frentzen struggled to maximise the potential of the EJ10 and had to be content with 15th position.