Formula 1

Australian GP: Honda Friday practice notes

The Honda Racing F1 Team's Australian Grand Prix got off to a promising start today as Third Driver Anthony Davidson once again topped the timesheets in free practice running, with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello posting the fastest and 5th ...

Edited: Apr 1, 2006, 2:39 AM

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The Honda Racing F1 Team's Australian Grand Prix got off to a promising start today as Third Driver Anthony Davidson once again topped the timesheets in free practice running, with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello posting the fastest and 5th fastest times of the race drivers.

Anthony Davidson:

"I've had a very positive day today and I'm pleased to be top of the times again. It's been quite a difficult day in terms of traffic because none of the teams get to drive this circuit outside of the Grand Prix weekend, so there were a lot of cars on track at one time, especially when the circuit evolved towards the end of the second session."

"I think we've done a good job on tyre evaluation and overall we're looking good. There's definitely more to come though so if we keep moving forward like we have today we should have a good weekend."

Jenson Button:

"It's been a positive start to the weekend and so far, so good. The circuit had very low grip but we ran through everything we intended to and, most importantly, it's good that Anthony completed all his test items."

Rubens Barrichello:

"I have had a much better Friday today than at the past two races. We had a little problem this morning so it's good that we got some good running this afternoon but I'm definitely looking a lot more competitive. I hope we can continue like this through the rest of the weekend and it should be a better race for me."

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director:

"We had a good start to the weekend; all three cars ran without any glitches today and were in the top third of the time sheets. Anthony worked hard evaluating the tyres and different set-ups."

"Despite the fact we are competitive today the drivers are not 100% happy with the car, so there is room for improvement. Tonight we will review all the data and hopefully make some good decisions for tomorrow."

Shuhei Nakamoto: Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development:

"The engine is running well and the lap times were reasonably encouraging. Anthony did another sound job, running more laps than anyone, and topping the times for the third Friday in a row."

Rubens Barrichello
Chassis: RA106-03
Practice session 1: no time
Practice session 2: 8th, 1:28.075, 20 laps

Jenson Button
Chassis: RA106-04
Practice session 1: no time
Practice session 2: 4th, 1:27.213, 12 laps

Anthony Davidson
Chassis: RA106-01
Practice session 1: 1st, 1:28.259, 26 laps
Practice session 2: 1st, 1:26.822, 28 laps

-honda-

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