Formula One news
Button gives Honda hope
26 September 2008 / Results / PhotosFormula One went nocturnal tonight as Honda took to the floodlit streets of Singapore for the opening practice sessions of the Singapore Grand Prix. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello got their first taste of the new Marina Bay Street Circuit at 1900 local time during the first official night practice in F1 history.
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The opening practice session ended with Jenson setting the 10th fastest time. He completed a total of 30 laps, during which he improved the handling of his RA108 and set a best lap of 1:47.277s. Rubens was less happy with the balance of his car. He had too much front-end grip and the resultant oversteer provoked a spin midway through the session that ended with him nudging the barriers and causing some damage to his rear wing.
Second practice got underway just one hour later at 2130 local time and Jenson continued to improve the balance of his car. He completed 32 more laps and ended the evening in eighth place with a best lap of 1:46.901s. Rubens completed 25 laps in session two. However, having taken to the track late following repairs to his car, he struggled with the stability of his car on the bumpy track and further work is required to resolve the problem.
"It's been a very strange day of testing tonight! You would expect the conditions to be cooler but this has to be one of the hottest Fridays that we've ever had and it's just so humid," said Button. "The circuit is interesting to drive and it's very bumpy which adds to the excitement as the bumps bounce the car all over the place. We spent both sessions trying to improve the ride quality and balance of the car by testing many different things and the outcome was largely positive. We didn't get the best out of the car on my final run with the new tyres, due to too much understeer, but it was still nice to end up eighth quickest. All in all, a good start to the weekend and I'm sure there is still a lot more to come."
Barrichello commented, "We worked really hard today but unfortunately our practice was compromised as the car was bouncing and touching the ground so much. I was a passenger for the second session really as we could not resolve the problem, despite trying many different solutions. The layout of the circuit is quite good but it is very bumpy which has been the cause of the problems with our car. The lighting is quite bright although there seems to be a dark spot at Turn 5. Visibility is not a problem although it may be more tricky if it rains."
Head of engineering Steve Clark commented, "We have done some a lot of good work in race trim today because brake wear and temperatures can be an issue at this type of track. We would like to have a clearer view of tyres and set-up for qualifying and the race at this stage, but in reality we will have to be very careful with the evolving track conditions as things change significantly between now and Sunday. We will need to stay sharp and respond quickly as the track develops."
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