Formula One news

Honda looking for improvement

It was a busy first day of running for the Honda team in Budapest today with the focus on establishing a set-up for the team's latest car developments to suit the demands of the Hungaroring circuit. The track continued to improve throughout the course of the day and the team made good progress with its planned programme, however there is still further work to be done to achieve a good balance and to enable the team to improve through the field. Jenson and Rubens ended the day in 16th and 19th positions respectively. 

"Overall we had a good day today which enabled us to further understand the new rear suspension that we will be racing for the first time this weekend," said Button. "We made some positive changes after the morning session to improve the car as I was not happy with the balance when we had very low grip at both ends. The changes ensured that the car was a lot more responsive this afternoon and an improvement over how it has felt for much of this season. Our long run pace is looking okay but we have further work to do over one lap as the balance is not quite there yet."

Barrichello commented, "It has been a challenging day today, which we expected as we continue the set-up work with our revised rear suspension and new aero parts. Once the track had improved this morning, we worked on getting the right balance on the car and conditioning the tyres. Unfortunately we struggled with understeer and we need to look at the data closely this evening to confirm our direction before qualifying as the lack of overtaking opportunities here makes it important to get a good grid slot."
Head engineer Steve Clark added, "This is always a demanding circuit for the brakes and engine due to the high ambient temperatures and low average speed. We also need to be mindful of the fact that we are expecting an equally hot weekend in Valencia in three weeks time, therefore engine management will be particularly important here. The nature of this circuit calls for the Bridgestone soft and super soft tyre compounds with which we will need to maintain a balance to prevent graining and overheating. Beyond that the heat will make this a tough race for the drivers, however ours are well prepared for these conditions."

more news

• 05 Sep.
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  • Raikkonen crash hinders Ferrari preparations
  • Renault lifted by Alonso's pace
  • BMWs struggle on Friday
  • Toyota looking for more pace
  • Force India happy with practice
  • Toro Rossos going well at Spa
  • New parts working well for Williams
  • Honda struggling at Spa
  • Mixed day for Red Bull
  • Alonso tops second practice
  • McLaren to open office in US
  • Massa tops first free practice at Spa
  • Photos: Friday at Spa-Francorchamps
  • Vettel to test Red Bull this month
• 04 Sep.
  • Massa eyes up vital six final races
  • Raikkonen hopes for dry weekend
  • Photos: Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps
  • Coulthard: The engines make the difference
• 03 Sep.
  • Bridgestone going hard on Spa
  • Former Albers manager teams up with Doornbos
  • Massa: Beating Raikkonen will be difficult at Spa
  • Belgian Grand Prix technical preview
• 02 Sep.
  • Raikkonen: I need a good result at Spa
  • Button: Spa is just great!
  • Brawn hopes for mixed weather conditions
  • Toro Rosso invites Sato and Buemi for test
  • Glock hoping to score more points
  • Renault not giving up on fourth
  • Piquet determined to score at Spa
• 01 Sep.
  • Ecclestone supports Mosley
  • Trulli expects another strong weekend
  • Alonso determined to bounce back
  • Cregan to leave Toyota at end of season
  • Belgian Grand Prix snap shot
  • Mercedes boss expects tight end to season
• 31 Aug.
  • Alonso pleased with test progress
  • Honda still looking for Monza set up
• 30 Aug.
  • Force India eyes Honda after test progress
  • BMW boss wants both cars in the points

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