Honda: In Bahrain, Jenson Button will start 9th, Rubens Barrichello 12th

Today, at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Honda Racing F1 Team achieved their best team result of the season in qualifying. Jenson Button achieved the objective set at the beginning of the weekend of entering the top ten on the grid, while his teammate Rubens Barrichello will start tomorrow from 12th place on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for a distance of 57 turns.

Since testing the new aerodynamic package of the RA108 on the eve of the first race, the Honda Racing F1 Team has made constant progress in terms of balance and set-up and the same judgment can be expressed for the performances shown so far in Bahrain . In this morning's final free practice session, the two Honda drivers fine-tuned the balance of their car and prepared for the afternoon's qualifying confident of achieving a good result.

In the first round, Jenson made two outings, improving by 8 tenths in the second with a time of 1:32.793 and rising brilliantly to fifth place overall. Rubens also went out twice, obtaining ninth place with 1:32.944s.

Track conditions improved throughout qualifying, allowing the two drivers to lower their times in the second part of qualifying. The time of 1:32.362s, the best recorded by Jenson so far this weekend, placed the Englishman in 10th place, while Rubens finished 12th with a timed result that was just 2 tenths higher.

"I'm quite satisfied with today's qualifying," said Rubens, "in particular because we managed to improve the car a lot since yesterday and this means that the technicians did an excellent job this evening. Unfortunately, a gearbox problem hindered my fastest lap in the second session. Without that problem, I'm almost sure we would have managed to get into the top ten. I like the track and if the car is OK again tomorrow, I think we can fight for points."

Jenson, after having achieved the objective of accessing the third round of qualifying for the first time in the season, took to the track in Q3 setting the ninth final time with 1:35.057.

“I'm very happy with our qualifying session,” said Jenson. “Having managed to access the third round and position myself on the clean side of the grid with the 9th fastest time is a great satisfaction for me and for the team. After having some difficulties this morning, we managed to resolve the problems before qualifying, after which the car ran well in the afternoon. From this position, we can have an excellent race, so I feel emotional when I think about the possibilities I could have tomorrow."