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Barcelona 04

Gran Premio Marlboro de España

09/05/2004

BAR Race Report

Race Report

Lucky Strike B·A·R Honda drivers Takuma Sato and Jenson Button ended today's Spanish Grand Prix 5th and 8th respectively, producing another solid two-car points haul if not the podium finish that has been the standard of the last three races. Nonetheless, today's result boosts the team's tally in the Constructors' Championship to 32 points, and eases them further ahead of Williams to take a clear hold of 3rd place. Jenson retains his third place in the Drivers' standings on 23 points, whilst Takuma lies 8th with 8 points.

Takuma Sato Position: 5th Best lap time: 1:17.678
"I made a good start and it was very exciting to be so close to the front of the grid. I was amazed by Trulli's start though - I don't know how they did that! Obviously I'm a little disappointed that we started from third and finished fifth, but both Jenson and I really struggled with consistency after each tyre change. We did our best and we have achieved some valuable points for the team. It was a tough race though. I'm looking forward to Monaco now. We are testing in Paul Ricard next week in preparation and I think we can be optimistic of another good result next race."

Jenson Button Position: 8th Best lap time: 1:17.495
"I didn't get a very good start then I was a little disappointed with the first stint because it just wasn't possible to overtake. I really struggled to be honest. I lost so much time in the high-speed corners because when you're so close to the other cars you lose a lot of downforce. We had good straight-line speed so we thought we would be able to overtake them in the straights, but I had no chance; overtaking is so difficult here. Considering where I started, I am pleased to have been able to salvage a point here. I'm really looking forward to Monaco though. I think we'll have a good package there and hopefully we can translate that into a good result."

David Richards, Team Principal
"This result further strengthens our third place in the championship, and although not perhaps what we had hoped for when we came here, I am very pleased to have both cars in the points and finishing reliably. Taku drove well this afternoon and is now gaining some real momentum which I see growing race by race. Jenson's result was a strong testament to the excellent teamwork in the pits; even though he was considerably faster than the cars in front it is extremely difficult to pass and so his pitstop strategy and execution proved critical. Another weekend of learning and building experience as a team, all of which will make us stronger."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director
"This was not quite the result we were looking for from this weekend but all the same we are happy to finish both cars in the points and strengthen our third place in the Championship. A solid performance from Takuma fighting for fourth with Alonso but in the end we were not quite quick enough. As expected, starting from 14th, Jenson found it virtually impossible to pass here, even with a substantial car advantage. His progress was down to keeping to a good strategy and effective pitstops. Clearly we feel that we have not been able to show our true performance consistently this weekend and we will be working hard to understand how we can improve for Monaco."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development
"Although we are disappointed with our performance this weekend we have to remember how far we have come this year - both cars have raced into the points today and we leave Spain third in the constructors' world championship."