Hungarian GP Benetton race notes

Giancarlo Fisichella
"I was comfortable with the way the race was going and we had two good pit stops, the first of which allowed me to pass Pedro de la Rosa. It was extremely disappointing, therefore, that I encountered engine trouble just seven laps from the end and had to retire."

Jenson Button
"After serving my stop-go penalty for jumping the start, the car was working oki, although it wasn’t quite as well balanced as I would have liked. Things improved towards the end of my first stint, so tyre wear might have had an effect. After my first scheduled stop the car was really good on new tyres and that’s when I set my fastest lap. It was definitely more consistent, but unfortunately I made a mistake and spun when I was coming through the final corner. I went a little bit sideways and I’m afraid traction control was unable to save me, so that was that."

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director
"I think the whole weekend was about getting the tyres to work correctly at the right time and that was very true in the race. Jenson unfortunately received a stop-go penalty for jumping the start. Giancarlo lost some time behind de la Rosa’s Jaguar, so we brought him in early for his first stop which gained him an advantage and a healthy lead over de la Rosa once they had both stopped. During his middle stint he was really quite competitive but after his second stop. He had a huge amount of understeer and the car was difficult to drive. We were just looking to get the car to the end, but unfortunately he had an engine failure, while Jenson had earlier lost the back end of his car at the final corner. It was a processional race and we are disappointed not to have finished, but I would like to congratulate Michael Schumacher and Ferrari on wrapping up the world championship titles today."

Benetton Renault F1 will be testing in Barcelona on August 21-24 with Jenson and Giancarlo. There will be further refinements to the team’s new aerodynamic package and we will make preparations for the forthcoming Belgian GP. We will also try some new parts destined for next season’s R202 chassis.

-Benetton