TotalMotorSport All the latest Motorsport news, race reports and photographs from around the world. Alms, Touring Cars, Formula One & Le Mans 24 Hours

<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">11/06/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">BAR Quickest In Free Practice</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Sato Tops The Times Again</FONT></B></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"><B>BAR Quickest In Free Practice</B><BR> <BR> Lucky Strike B·A·R Honda's Takuma Sato demonstrated his eagerness to pick up where left off in Germany two weeks ago when he posted the fastest time in today's second free practice session for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix. His team-mate Jenson Button's weekend got off to a slightly more frustrating start when he struggled to find a good balance due to the dirty track conditions. He was 7th in the morning session and ended the day 8th in the final session. Third driver Anthony Davidson's testing duties were brought to a similarly disappointing conclusion. He was third fastest behind the Ferrari's this morning but locked up the rear wheels at turn 6 in this afternoon's session, hitting the Armco and damaging the car, but thankfully not himself, in what was quite a substantial impact. <BR> <BR> <B>Takuma Sato</B> Lap time: 1:14.086<BR> "We have had a good day today and I'm very pleased about the result we had today. The circuit had much less grip in the morning but the afternoon improved a lot, so we were able to do a competitive run this afternoon. Generally we had good pace and the improvement that the new engine brings is very promising for the rest of the weekend. This circuit is quite tough on the brakes but we're not experiencing any issues so far and we don't feel we have anything to worry about."<BR> <BR> <B>Jenson Button</B> Lap time: 1:15.152<BR> "We haven't really been able to find a good balance today, which is disappointing because the car is looking very encouraging. As soon as I turned into the corners I had quite a lot of understeer, so I had no confidence in the car because it just felt loose at the back. We have a lot of work to do tonight with the tyre options and to decide how to get the best result in qualifying. But we're not just here to qualify well; we're looking for a good race result. So it's a little bit disappointing that we're slightly off-track, but it's nothing that can't be overcome overnight and we should have a more positive day tomorrow. The Ferraris are looking very consistent again so I think we have a fight on our hands, but that's what we're here for."<BR> <BR> <B>Anthony Davidson</B> Lap time: 1:15.513<BR> "My track debut in Canada hasn't been quite as positive as in the races to date. I acclimatised to the track quite well and had a good morning, despite the fact that the track conditions weren't great as it was very dirty out there at first. I was second to the Ferraris again which I'm quite pleased about, but then this afternoon, I lost the second half of the session when my rears locked up at turn six and I hit the Armco - quite hard actually! It is disappointing that I haven't been able to complete my programme today and make a bigger contribution to what I'm sure will be another exciting weekend for the team."<BR> <BR> <B>David Richards, Team Principal</B><BR> "It's always wonderful to come to Montreal as the teams receive such a warm welcome from the well-informed and enthusiastic Canadian fans. The track however always starts rather dirty and thus the first day of running can be a little confusing. Nonetheless, Taku posting the fastest time at the end of the day is an encouraging start to the weekend and an indication of what could lie ahead."<BR> <BR> <B>Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director</B><BR> "This circuit requires much less downforce than the rest of the races so far this season, so the drivers are having to get used to lower than usual grip and stability on a track which always starts off with very low grip. We improved the car with set-up changes between the two sessions and Takuma finished the day fastest, but Jenson is not as happy as Takuma with his car balance. Anthony had a good day until he went off when he locked up and spun off at turn 6, hitting the wall quite hard. However we have been able to complete the majority of our tyre work today and so we have enough information to consider for tomorrow. We are looking forward to finding a good balance on both cars tomorrow, on a circuit where we know we will be strong."<BR> <BR> <B>Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development</B> <BR> "Overall we have had a good day, even if it was not our best Friday. The car is working well here and I am optimistic for the rest of the weekend."<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>