2007 EUROPEAN GP: RACE
A somewhat chaotic European Grand Prix ended disappointingly for the Honda
Racing F1 Team at the Nürburgring today. Rubens Barrichello crossed the line in
11th position whilst Jenson Button became one of a number of casualties at a
rain-soaked first corner when his car aquaplaned uncontrollably across the
river which had formed there in a matter of minutes.
The race began in dry and sunny conditions but dark grey clouds
were already looming ominously on the horizon. They made rapid progress towards
the track and the field was forced to pit for wet tyres at the end of lap one.
A flash downpour followed and many of the drivers became passengers as they
lost control of their cars through the standing water. Within just two laps
Jenson made up an incredible 15 places and was running in fourth position
before he too fell foul of the track conditions.
During this time, Rubens was punted from behind by Rosberg, causing damage to
his rear diffuser which compromised his aero balance for the duration of the
race. He pitted for a second time on lap two to switch to the extreme wet
tyres, but as the track conditions worsened the race was red flagged until the
rain subsided.
At the restart Rubens took up his new position of ninth on the grid and on a
drying track he reverted to the wet tyre. As blue skies emerged again he pitted
after eight laps for dry rubber on which he remained until seven laps from the
chequered flag when the heavens opened for a second time and the field was
forced to stop again for wets. Rubens completed five pit stops in total and
took on fuel in two of those.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“I’m bitterly disappointed with the result today. The car felt bad from the
start and it never really improved through the race, most likely because of the
damage caused when I was hit by Rosberg. I love these dry-wet conditions and we
had some opportunities today because of the way the race was unfolding.
However, we did not have the car and we did not make the most of the
circumstances.”
JENSON BUTTON
“I didn’t get a good start and I dropped to 20th position, however I had a
really good first lap and I was up to sixth position when I pitted for wet
tyres. After that the rain poured down and turn one was a lake. By that time I
was in fourth position behind Massa and Alonso. I just touched the brakes and
all four wheels locked, then I hit the wall. It’s a real shame because I had a
lot of fuel on board, a good strategy given the way the race then panned out
for the others and I love to drive in these wet conditions. This race was
unfortunately a lottery and sadly I lost out.”
JACKY EECKELAERT - Engineering Director
“We missed an opportunity to score some good points today. During the first two
laps Jenson did well to overtake 15 cars and was in fourth position when he
went off and ended up in the gravel trap. In that part of the race Rubens
sustained some damage to his rear diffuser when he got hit from behind by
Rosberg. Although the race was then red flagged there was not enough time to
carry out a proper repair on the grid, therefore Rubens’ car did not perform at
all well aerodynamically and as a result his race pace was no match for the
cars in front.”