Will BAR Honda come back this weekend? Did well in practice on Friday.
BAR Honda come back?
- Thread starter fannsx
- Start date
I hope so,they looked good. If they qualify well....
Looking good for Practice Session 1 and 2 =) Hope they keep up the pace.
Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1 P. de la Rosa McLaren 1:20.484 31
2 J. Button BAR 1:21.052 28
3 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:21.704 16
4 R. Zonta Toyota 1:21.889 35
5 F. Alonso Renault 1:21.899 10
6 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:22.025 10
7 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:22.048 22
8 A. Wurz McLaren 1:22.174 17
9 G. Fisichella Renault 1:22.211 23
10 T. Sato BAR 1:22.335 27
11 F. Massa Sauber 1:22.791 23
12 J. Villeneuve Sauber 1:22.955 22
13 J. Trulli Toyota 1:23.343 20
14 N. Heidfeld Williams 1:23.458 16
15 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:23.466 21
16 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:23.815 20
17 N. Karthikeyan Jordan 1:23.842 16
18 M. Webber Williams 1:23.964 14
19 C. Klien Red Bull 1:24.320 38
20 T. Monteiro Jordan 1:24.573 21
21 V. Liuzzi Red Bull 1:24.626 29
22 R. Doornbos Jordan 1:25.172 15
23 P. Friesacher Minardi 1:26.620 14
24 C. Albers Minardi no time 1
Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1 P. de la Rosa McLaren 1:20.484 31
2 J. Button BAR 1:21.052 28
3 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:21.704 16
4 R. Zonta Toyota 1:21.889 35
5 F. Alonso Renault 1:21.899 10
6 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:22.025 10
7 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:22.048 22
8 A. Wurz McLaren 1:22.174 17
9 G. Fisichella Renault 1:22.211 23
10 T. Sato BAR 1:22.335 27
11 F. Massa Sauber 1:22.791 23
12 J. Villeneuve Sauber 1:22.955 22
13 J. Trulli Toyota 1:23.343 20
14 N. Heidfeld Williams 1:23.458 16
15 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:23.466 21
16 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:23.815 20
17 N. Karthikeyan Jordan 1:23.842 16
18 M. Webber Williams 1:23.964 14
19 C. Klien Red Bull 1:24.320 38
20 T. Monteiro Jordan 1:24.573 21
21 V. Liuzzi Red Bull 1:24.626 29
22 R. Doornbos Jordan 1:25.172 15
23 P. Friesacher Minardi 1:26.620 14
24 C. Albers Minardi no time 1
Well, I only recorded the two qualifying sessions and watched the first light fuel session. Anyone know how it turned out? On the light fuel Jenson is 4th which is good, but not exactly where I thought they would be. Sounds like they would be top 6 at race pace which means a podium might be tough. I'm just speculating since I didn't watch the 2nd qualifying yet so maybe they improved? Anyone know were they stand on the grid right now? IMHO, BAR/Honda really needs a podium this race and get things going. Anyone catch what was said on speed channel about the claus in Jenson Button's contract which says he needs to have at least 75% of the leaders drivers championship points (I guess that means if he is not leading in the points) or he can leave to BMW/Williams by mid season. If that is true and he does leave that will be a major disruption at a critical point in the season.
Chris,
Tonight my EST time zone at 2 am is the second qualify run then the race at 3am to 4:30 am on Direct TV. I too hope they will place in a better aggregate position as its very difficult to over take in Imola. And their practice and first round qualifying looked very completive since all the top 13 runners are .7 seconds from one another.
Yes, Button has the exit clause for mid season, should be decided by Silver Stone I believe. However, the executives at Honda have asked Button to stay strong and loyal for improvements after his vicious comment in regards to failure at Malaysia. But if he does leave, I know Anthony Davidson is looking to eagerly replace as he has been wanting to race due to no longer being a Friday Test driver at the event.
Here is the comments after the first Q1 run.
Takuma and Jenson left the pit lane 7th and 8th respectively for the start of this crucial first session, which provided the first real indication of just how much of a step forward the teams have made following the introduction of their 'Imola upgrades'. Boosted by a smooth morning's progress in the last two free practice sessions of the weekend, both drivers were aware that their early qualifying runs - determined by the retirements in Bahrain - would compromise their chances of finishing at the very top of the timesheets.
Nonetheless, with just 0.7sec separating 3rd and 13th places and encouraging signs that there is more to come from the revised B·A·R Honda 007, the team are optimistic for tomorrow's race.
"I am reasonably happy considering the position we started in for qualifying," said Button. "My lap was going really well until the last sector, when I had too much understeer. At least it has shown that we are have made some big improvements and are on the pace. It would have nice to be on pole here, but if we are in the top five tomorrow I will be very happy because I think the car is strong enough for us to make the best of every opportunity in tomorrow's race."
Sato commented, "We had good pace in free practice this morning. We knew we were going to be affected by running early in the session with the track conditions certain to improve for the drivers running later. Although I struggled with grip a little, I am reasonably pleased with my lap and everybody's lap time in the top ten is so close together. Because of this, I feel that tomorrow morning I have a good chance of improving my position on the grid for the race. The two weeks' testing in Barcelona and Paul Ricard is paying off though and we are confident that we will be able to get our season started here in Imola."
Sporting director Gil de Ferran added, "After very strong morning sessions, we had set our sights high for this afternoon's qualifying. However, we were also conscious that with early start times it was going to be difficult to get into the top positions. Both drivers had good qualifying laps and we are very pleased with the progress we have made generally since the last race. We now feel confident for tomorrow's second qualifying session and the race."
Shuhei Nakamoto of Honda conclude,d "With both of the drivers in the top ten it shows that we have definitely made good progress. I am looking forward to 2nd qualifying and the race tomorrow, as it will be very exciting with so many cars so closely matched."
Tonight my EST time zone at 2 am is the second qualify run then the race at 3am to 4:30 am on Direct TV. I too hope they will place in a better aggregate position as its very difficult to over take in Imola. And their practice and first round qualifying looked very completive since all the top 13 runners are .7 seconds from one another.
Yes, Button has the exit clause for mid season, should be decided by Silver Stone I believe. However, the executives at Honda have asked Button to stay strong and loyal for improvements after his vicious comment in regards to failure at Malaysia. But if he does leave, I know Anthony Davidson is looking to eagerly replace as he has been wanting to race due to no longer being a Friday Test driver at the event.
Here is the comments after the first Q1 run.
Takuma and Jenson left the pit lane 7th and 8th respectively for the start of this crucial first session, which provided the first real indication of just how much of a step forward the teams have made following the introduction of their 'Imola upgrades'. Boosted by a smooth morning's progress in the last two free practice sessions of the weekend, both drivers were aware that their early qualifying runs - determined by the retirements in Bahrain - would compromise their chances of finishing at the very top of the timesheets.
Nonetheless, with just 0.7sec separating 3rd and 13th places and encouraging signs that there is more to come from the revised B·A·R Honda 007, the team are optimistic for tomorrow's race.
"I am reasonably happy considering the position we started in for qualifying," said Button. "My lap was going really well until the last sector, when I had too much understeer. At least it has shown that we are have made some big improvements and are on the pace. It would have nice to be on pole here, but if we are in the top five tomorrow I will be very happy because I think the car is strong enough for us to make the best of every opportunity in tomorrow's race."
Sato commented, "We had good pace in free practice this morning. We knew we were going to be affected by running early in the session with the track conditions certain to improve for the drivers running later. Although I struggled with grip a little, I am reasonably pleased with my lap and everybody's lap time in the top ten is so close together. Because of this, I feel that tomorrow morning I have a good chance of improving my position on the grid for the race. The two weeks' testing in Barcelona and Paul Ricard is paying off though and we are confident that we will be able to get our season started here in Imola."
Sporting director Gil de Ferran added, "After very strong morning sessions, we had set our sights high for this afternoon's qualifying. However, we were also conscious that with early start times it was going to be difficult to get into the top positions. Both drivers had good qualifying laps and we are very pleased with the progress we have made generally since the last race. We now feel confident for tomorrow's second qualifying session and the race."
Shuhei Nakamoto of Honda conclude,d "With both of the drivers in the top ten it shows that we have definitely made good progress. I am looking forward to 2nd qualifying and the race tomorrow, as it will be very exciting with so many cars so closely matched."
Sounds like things are a little better than I thought. At least BAR/Honda thinks so :wink: You are right about the passing thus why I was worried that they need to qualify well. At least within the first 3 rolls of not P1 or P2. I'm not too worried if they start behind the Farrari's because the Bridgestones hasn't shown it can warm up to race speed as fast as the Michelin, so I think they could have a better start. It is the Renaults and Kimi that worry me at the start. BAR needs to be in front of at least side by side with those guys at the start since they tend to have great starts.
I am so happy that BAR has scored some good points in this race.Hope this keeps up.
You are right. It took a long time for those tires to warm up. By the end of the race, those Bridgestones on the Ferrari got faster and fasterChrisK said:
fannsx said:
Looks like Ferrari might be officially back. If their tires can get better for qualifying it might be another Ferrari run away. Renault is still the team to beat, but Ferrari sure looks like they will challange for 1st much sooner than I thought. In a way, it is starting to look like last season again with Ferrari seemingly starting to take over, and Renault and BAR will challange each other all season long. Very interesting how one race can really start to turn things around. Very exciting season though. Good to see Takuma Sato doing good this race as well. One more good race for BAR/Honda and I'd say they are back on track.
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that Ferrari was taking two seconds a lap out of the Honda and the Renault with similar amounts of fuel in them.If they can keep that up then they are going to dominate again :frown:
Well, it could be bad news for BAR and Jenson. The FIA appealed the local track stewards decision to not DQ Jenson's car for possibly being under weight so we have to see if the evidence BAR provides is enough to keep themselves frm being DQed. If they loose this 3rd place finish they will be 6 points less. I don't think they will test Sato's car for the same situation though, but if they do and he too has the same weight issue they potentially could loose all their points. I guess we will have to play the waiting game. If BAR looses this appeal I have a feeling Jenson will be more eager to jump ship mid season and BAR is going to have a hard time salvaging their season. Hopefully Honda will just hurry up and take full control and race as a factory team already.
Things can even get worse for Honda: The examination of Button's car showed that he may have had a hidden gas reservoir which the BAR chief technician denied. If it turns out that he lied the whole BAR Honda team could be banned for the rest of the season. Decision is forseen to be made on 4th of may.
The last time a big japanese car company was involved in such a case was in the Word Rallye Championship. Toyota was banned for 2 years!
The last time a big japanese car company was involved in such a case was in the Word Rallye Championship. Toyota was banned for 2 years!
Most feel that if they are indeed proven to have done wrong, they probably would get some sort of heavy sanctions, but not an outright ban. It is possible, but most feel F1 itself can't afford to loose one of the larger teams like BAR. Somehow though I get the feeling this will all blow over and BAR will be cleared. I mean, to run a hidden fuel tank or two fuel bladdars as some speculate (Only speculation right now) would just be pain stupid for any F1 team. I mean, I can see bending the rules on flexing aerodynamics, or hiding traction control deep in the software like Schumacher when he was caught, but to hide another fuel tank and use fuel as ballast is just too risky. At least I hope BAR wasn't that stupid to do something like that.
