German GP: Honda Saturday qualifying notes

The Honda Racing F1 Team enjoyed a good qualifying session in Hockenheim today as Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello found themselves competing at the top of timesheets once again. Jenson will line up on the second row of the grid for tomorrow's 67 lap race after posting the 4th fastest qualifying time. His team-mate was less than a tenth behind and will start right behind him in 6th position.

This afternoon's qualifying result comes hot on the heels of a strong showing in free practice this morning when Jenson and Rubens were the 2nd and 3rd fastest drivers on the track. The team now hopes to carry this performance improvement through to tomorrow's race and is aiming for a points finish for both cars.

Jenson Button:

"Obviously this is a very positive qualifying result for us and I'm really pleased that I'll be starting from the second row tomorrow. We've looked competitive all through the weekend but I'd prefer to wait and see how the race pans out. Generally though I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think it should be a great race."

Rubens Barrichello:

"I really feel like I had a great lap today and I think our result shows that it's back to reality in a way. We had a difficult time in France but we are closer now to where we should be again. We had a much better test in Jerez and we seemed to have made some good progress with the car in a number of areas. I think we can translate today's qualifying into a positive performance tomorrow and we should be able to have a strong race with some good points for both of us."

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director:

"We had a good day today and are very satisfied with our qualifying performance . Both Jenson and Rubens did a great job. The hotter track temperatures today suited our car and tyres, and the team's hard work is starting to pay off. So far we have been able to improve a little with each session and the new engine specification is working well. Let's see what tomorrow brings."

Jenson Button
Chassis: RA106-05
4th, 1:14.862

Rubens Barrichello
Chassis: RA106-01
6th, 1:14.934

-honda-