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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">F-1</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">04/04/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Button Does It Again</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">BAR On Podium Again</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/button-podium-bahrain-04(1).jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">Jenson Button made it two-in-a-row today after scoring his second podium finish in two consecutive races for Lucky Strike B·A·R Honda team in the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished third at the Sakhir circuit today, just two weeks after achieving his first-ever podium finish in Malaysia. His team-mate Takuma Sato also delivered a strong performance for the team today, emerging unscathed from a seventh lap clash with Ralf Schumacher to equal his own best finish with a hard-fought and well-deserved fifth place. This result represents the team's best-ever combined finish in a Grand Prix.<BR> <BR> Just three races into the 18-round season, the team now lies fourth in the Constructors' Championship, with Jenson and Takuma lying third and eighth respectively in the Drivers' standings.<BR> <BR> <B>Jenson Button</B> 3rd <BR> "It's fantastic to be on the podium again so soon after Malaysia. It was a great first race here and a brilliant result for the team. I didn't get a very good start and I was stuck behind Ralf in turn one, so I dropped back to eighth. In the first stint I was suffering quite badly from understeer so I was losing a lot of time in the high-speed corners. At the first stop we made a front wing adjustment and after that the car ran really well. The team have done another fantastic job here this weekend and my thanks to them and Honda for helping to make this result possible again. <BR> <BR> It's great to be lying third in the Drivers' Championship at this stage in the season. We're still only three races into our relationship with Michelin so we're still learning a lot about the package but it's really starting to come together now. We'll be focusing very much on what we now need to do to take that next step forward."<BR> <BR> <center><IMG border="1" SRC="../Championships/Storage/bar-button-finish-bahrain-0.jpg" hspace="9 "></center><BR> <BR> <B>Takuma Sato</B> 5th <BR> "First of all I would like to say thank you to the team and the fantastic result we achieved together today. From a personal point of view I was quite disappointed with my race because I was on the pace and could have achieved a stronger position than fifth today. On the other hand, I'm happy to deliver a points-finish for the team because every point counts in the end. I also really enjoyed racing here, so I'm taking away a lot of good things from this weekend. The tangle with Ralf Schumacher was disappointing because we should have got through turn two side by side but he just closed the door on me and turned in. After that, I ran wide, damaging the front wing on the kerb and I was forced to do an earlier pitstop. <BR> <BR> In my middle stint, the gurney came loose and we had to adjust it in my next pitstop, so I lost a bit of time there. <BR> Generally though, the car was working superbly and I was able to race alongside Coulthard and Alonso towards the end which was great. Things are looking very encouraging for the rest of the season and I can't wait for Imola in three weeks' time."<BR> <BR> <center><IMG border="1" SRC="../Championships/Storage/bar-sato-bahrain-r-04.jpg" hspace="9 "></center><BR> <BR> <B>David Richards, Team Principal</B><BR> "Another fantastic weekend for everyone at B·A·R, not just here in Bahrain, but also everyone behind the scenes in Brackley and all those at Honda and BAT who have supported us in our rebuilding of the team. Even I didn't expect to be where we are in the championship as we head back to Europe; and now Taku has a good result under his belt we can expect even more of him. Jenson was simply incredible this afternoon, and now we must aim for that first win."<BR> <BR> <B>Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director</B><BR> "This is an excellent result for the team; not only our consecutive podium place for Jenson but two cars in the points. It has been a demanding weekend for us. While strong on Saturday morning we showed our lack of experience with the tyres in qualifying. The cars performed well in the race and Jenson was able to race the Williams throughout, eventually benefiting from our pace and reliability. Takuma recovered well from a mistake in which he damaged the under tray and held off Alonso from that point onwards. We now go to the next test to work on engine and chassis developments for the next round at Imola." <BR> <BR> <B>Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development </B><BR> "It's a great feeling to score two podiums in a row. Jenson drove a superb race and Taku did well to finish fifth. I'm particularly pleased that both cars finished in strong positions today. The benefits of the hard work we've been doing is starting to be seen, however it's crucial that we keep the momentum going to close the gap between ourselves and the top team."<BR> <BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>