formula 1 racing

Honda F1 24 July 2004 BITTER SWEET DAY FOR B.A.R HONDA DRIVERS AT HOCKENHEIM
Sato and Button to start German GP from eighth and 13th

Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda's Takuma Sato and Jenson Button will start tomorrow's German Grand Prix from eighth and 13th position respectively. Button set the third fastest time in final qualifying at the Hockenheimring today but as his engine was changed last night the British driver will be moved back 10 places on the grid so will start the race from 13th position on the seventh row.

In the final practice session this morning Button made his mark by setting the fastest time of the weekend at that point, a 1m13.676s. Sato spun towards the end of the first morning practice session and was unable to participate in the second session as his car had to be repaired.

Button was the 18th man on track for his final qualifying run this afternoon with 15 minutes of the hour long session left, having finished third in pre-qualifying. Despite locking up at the hairpin, the Briton was happy with his lap of 1m13.673s, which put him third fastest before he was moved back 10 places to 13th.

Having set the 13th fastest time in pre-qualifying this afternoon, B.A.R Honda's Sato was the eighth driver out on track for qualifying proper. The Japanese driver set a 1m14.287s, finally qualifying eighth on the grid to start tomorrow's race from the fourth row.

There was no sign of the overnight rain today at Hockenheim but it remained fairly overcast and humid (27 degrees) as Ferrari's Michael Schumacher took pole position for his home Grand Prix, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams). The McLaren pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard will line up on row two with the Renault duo of Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli behind them on row three. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) and B.A.R Honda's Takuma Sato will start the race from seventh and eighth position respectively.

Takuma Sato Position: 8th
"This was a very difficult qualifying session for me. I lost most of the morning practice sessions and the only lap that I was able to do was in pre-qualifying. I did everything I could in the final qualifying run in those circumstances. I couldn't risk anything but as I got further into the lap I was more confident and was picking up speed towards the end, so I think my lap was fairly strong. I'm not really satisfied because we came here with high expectations of a better performance than in the last few races. The car is definitely stronger and we have the potential to score some good points tomorrow, so I will be doing my best to achieve that target."

Jenson Button Position: 13th
"I am quite pleased with my lap today and to qualify third is great, so it's very disappointing that I'll be lining up on the seventh row to start the race tomorrow. We have a very good car here and it is performing much better than in the last couple of races. The Michelin tyres are working well - not just on one lap but on the longer runs as well. 13th place is on the clean side of track so although I will be starting with slower cars around me, at least I should be able to make good progress off the line. There are also some good overtaking opportunities here - turns two and four and also the back straight. So I'll do the best possible job from there and hope to pick up a good points finish."

Shuhei Nakamoto - Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development
"It has been a difficult day but both of the drivers did a good job under the circumstances. Hockenheim always gives drivers the chance to overtake so I hope our strategy will prove to be the correct one."

Today's results
1. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'13"306
2. MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'13"667
3. RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'13"690
4. COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'13"821
5. ALONSO Renault M 1'13"874
6. TRULLI Renault M 1'14"134
7. BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'14"278
8. SATO BAR Honda M 1'14"287
9. PANIS Toyota M 1'14"367
10. PIZZONIA Williams BMW M 1'14"556
11. WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'14"802
12. KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"011
13. BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'13"673
14. FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'15"395
15. DA MATTA Toyota M 1'15"454
16. MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'15"616
17. PANTANO Jordan Ford B 1'16"192
18. HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'16"310
19. BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'18"055
20. BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'18"400

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