Formula 1
French GP: BAR race notes
Today's French Grand Prix ended with disappointment for Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda in one of the closest races of the season. Jenson Button lost out on a possible podium finish to finish fifth, whilst Takuma's hopes of a points finish were dashed ...
Published: Jul 5, 2004, 6:26 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Today's French Grand Prix ended with disappointment for Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda in one of the closest races of the season. Jenson Button lost out on a possible podium finish to finish fifth, whilst Takuma's hopes of a points finish were dashed when he suffered another engine failure just 15 laps into the 70-lap race.
Off the start, Jenson maintained his fourth-place grid position whilst Takuma dropped a place to eighth. Takuma struggled with the balance of the car in the first stint and this was addressed during the first pitstop. Shortly after rejoining the track, he felt the engine lose power suddenly and he came to a stop.
The team and Jenson worked hard at taking advantage of the close field in the closing stages, in pursuit of third place, but a problem at the last pitstop dropped him behind Barrichello and Trulli.
Jenson Button:
"I'm very disappointed because we expected to do a lot better here and fifth is not good enough. The strategy was working well for us but at the last pit stop the car went into anti-stall mode and cost me the time advantage that could have put us on the podium. We lost a possible third place today and, with Taku's problem, two much-needed points finishes, having worked so hard to close the gap to Renault. They had a good result today so we really have to have solved these problems going into our home race."
Takuma Sato:
"It is a shame that I could not finish the race after our performance in Indy. The lap times were very close and everybody was competitive, so it was a tough race. I immediately felt a loss of power after the pitstop and we knew there was a problem down the main straight but there was nothing we could do. It was a different problem than before - not sudden but gradual. We have only a week to look into the problem before the team's home race at Silverstone, which is one of the most important races on the calendar."
David Richards, Team Principal:
"Consolidating our third place in the Constructors' Championship and Jenson retaining third place in the Drivers' standings would, on the face of it, appear to be a solid weekend's work. However one can't help but feel disappointed that we didn't make the most of our potential here in Magny-Cours. As for Taku, even I don't believe that bad luck stretches this far and the most rigorous of investigations now has to take place in order to find a solution in time for our home race in just seven days' time."
Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director:
"A disappointing result at a circuit where we should have been quicker. Jenson raced strongly and the team responded well to the high-pressure pitstops, but in the end the car wasn't quite quick enough. We worked hard with our strategy throughout the race and we had a good chance of recovering third place at the last stop. However as Jenson pulled away, the anti-stall cut in, delaying him by less than a second, but enough to let Jarno and Rubens through turn two. It is also extremely frustrating to have another engine failure on Taku's car shortly after his first stop and this level of unreliability is unacceptable. We have to ensure that our investigations into the problem are conclusive in order to find a proper solution."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development:
"It was a good battle between Jenson, Jarno and Rubens, but I am of course disappointed we missed out on the podium place. It is a shame that Taku's engine failed again so we will work very hard this week to find the cause and put a counter measure in place for the next race at Silverstone."
-bar-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article French GP: Jordan race notes
Next article French GP: Winners' press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Takuma Sato
Ed Carpenter explains why he was so angry with Takuma Sato
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Ed Carpenter explains why he was so angry with Takuma Sato
Takuma Sato set for Indy 500 return with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Takuma Sato set for Indy 500 return with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda shares sneak peek of Takuma Sato preparing for Williams FW11 Tokyo Auto Salon run
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Honda shares sneak peek of Takuma Sato preparing for Williams FW11 Tokyo Auto Salon run
Latest news
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
25 min
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 25 min
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 50 min
Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
2 h
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe