Round nine of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship takes the HondaRacing F1 Team just seven miles from its base in Brackley to Silverstone forthe British Grand Prix. The 5.141km (3.194-mile) circuit is one of thefastest and most famous tracks on the F1 calendar, making it popular withdrivers, engineers and spectators.
Silverstone was the scene of the first F1 World Championship Grand Prix inMay 1950, although the circuit staged its first non-championship race twoyears earlier and will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.Formerly a World War II airfield, the track initially used the airfield'sperimeter road before undergoing various facelifts. The layout that is usedtoday has been in place since June 1994, when the Abbey Chicane was modifiedfollowing the events of Imola the previous month.
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello knowSilverstone well, having contested much of their racing in the juniorformulas in the UK. They have regularly finished in the points here and themost emphatic of Rubens' nine wins took place at the track in 2003, when heovertook Kimi Raikkonen to win the race by five seconds.
SILVERSTONE - THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE
Generally, Silverstone is a very fast track. The fast, sweeping bends at thestart of the lap require a lot of confidence from the drivers, so they tendto set-up their cars for Copse, Becketts and Stowe while doing the best theycan through the slow complex of corners at the end of the lap.
As at any track, there is more lap time to be lost and found through theslow corners, particularly at Club, the Abbey chicane and the final complex,where traction is all-important. As a result of the slow-speed grip neededthrough these slower sections, the cars run slightly more downforce than atMagny Cours, the last race on the calendar, and that places an emphasis onaerodynamic efficiency.
There are several sections of the track where the absence of tractioncontrol this year will frustrate the drivers, particularly at the exit ofClub where the cars accelerate from second gear through to fifth while undersevere lateral load. This makes it one of the key corners, as are the twoleft-handers - Priory and Brooklands - entering the final complex.
The asphalt is quite smooth, except for a couple of bumpy sections midwaythrough the lap. Notably, the braking point for Vale is very bumpy so a fewcars may be swapping ends early in the weekend as drivers work out theirbraking points.
Full throttle: 62% Brake wear: LightDownforce level: High - 8/10 Tyre compounds: Medium / Hard Tyre usage: Medium Average speed:230kph (143mph)
HONDA TEAM TALK
Ross Brawn, Team Principal
Q. How do you expect the Honda Racing F1 Team to perform at the BritishGrand Prix?"As the first of our two home races on the calendar, the British Grand Prixis very important to the team, particularly with Silverstone being locatedso close to our operational base in Brackley. We expect to see animprovement to the performance of the RA108 at Silverstone, certainlycompared to the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours. We have a number of newperformance parts on the car in the areas of chassis, aerodynamics andengine, which should allow us to be on the pace with our current competitorsin the midfield. Our drivers are looking forward to the challenge of theweekend and both rate this track as one of their favourites. Rubens has agreat history here and always performs very well at Silverstone, and Jensonis extremely motivated to do well at his home race."
Q. The team tested various performance upgrades last week. Will you berunning the new parts this weekend?"The Silverstone test went very well last week and all of our developmentparts performed as expected. We will complete our performance andreliability analysis at the factory over the next few days before making thefinal decisions on our package for the race weekend. A major advantage ofthe test was that it enabled us to complete a comprehensive set-up programmeand tyre evaluation with the Bridgestone Potenza tyre compounds availablefor the race, which will allow us to concentrate on pure performance gainsduring practice."
Jenson Button
Q. How much are you looking forward to your home race at the British GrandPrix?"The British Grand Prix is always a very special weekend for me and I'mexcited about racing there again in front of the British crowd. Whateverposition you are in and regardless of the performance of your car, the fansare always so supportive and the atmosphere from the grandstands over theweekend is fantastic. Silverstone is one of my all-time favourite circuitsand I particularly love the section of the track around Becketts. The changeof direction is amazing as is the speed that the cars carry through there.It's one of the best complexes in F1 and a great place to watch the race."
Rubens Barrichello
Q. You won the British Grand Prix in 2003. What does it take to be quickaround Silverstone?"I've spent a great deal of time testing and racing at Silverstone since Iwas very young so it is almost like a home track for me. I also have somevery special memories from here, especially my win from pole position backin 2003. To get the best from a lap of Silverstone, you need to have goodaerodynamic performance from your car. This is a high-speed and fast-flowingcircuit, one of the few remaining on the calendar, and it's a highlight forthe drivers as you can really let the car go. The entrance to Becketts isthe quickest corner on the track, a 290kph bend, leading into a challengingcomplex. Overtaking is possible, particularly into the slower corners atVale and Abbey. You can overtake elsewhere and because it is such ahigh-speed circuit, such moves tend to be spectacular. As one of our homeraces, there is always a lot of expectation prior to Silverstone. Followingthe test, I am confident that we can have a good race this weekend."
LAP OF THE TRACK with Alex Wurz
"Having married an English girl, there's a percentage of me that is nowBritish. I'm not saying that Silverstone is like a home race for me, butit's almost one and whatever other countries claim, Britain is still thehome of motor racing."
"Silverstone is a very exciting racetrack, especially the first half whichis really quick. You arrive at Turn 1 in seventh gear and on a good day it'sflat: we're talking 100 percent foot down and no braking.It's a ballsy corner and much tougher than Eau Rouge at Spa, for example.
"Then you come into Becketts, which is an awesome part of the circuit.The entry is very bumpy and you have to position the car correctly for theright-hander, which you can always do flat. Then there is a very fast changeof direction for a left-hander, but you still don't touch the brakes. Youshift down a gear and slow the car using a four-wheel drift, which is fun.There's then another downshift for the next right - again no braking - andyou get a bit of understeer through here, which you kill by flooring thethrottle for the exit onto the Hangar Straight.
"At the end of Hangar Straight is Stowe, which is the first time on the lapthat you actually touch the brakes. You have to remember that they will becold, so they will have slightly different characteristics to normal. Whenyou brake, you are already turning into the corner, so it's difficult tooutbrake someone and you expect to have some oversteer on entry.
"A short straight follows before you come to Club, which is the first hardbraking point of the lap. You want to hit the kerbs very hard on entry tothe left-hander, before turning into the right-hander which you enter insecond gear and accelerate through to fifth gear by the exit.You need very good traction, which will be particularly tough this year.
"The braking area for Abbey is next and it's always very slippery. The keyis to accept that and not overdrive the car. It's bumpy at the exit andwhereas you could rely on traction control to do it flat last year, it mightbe quite interesting this year. Then you come down to Bridge, which is easyflat in sixth gear, before turning left into Priory, which can be tricky.One day there is fantastic grip and it's really nice to drive; the next itcan be horrible with no grip at all!
"Then it's Brooklands. You're down to second gear and as more grip goes downover the weekend, the more you can cut the kerbs on the inside.Luffield, a long, second gear right-hander, is the final corner. The entryto the corner is always quite neutral because you brake aggressively andthen there's a change in asphalt and whatever you do to the set-up you willhave mid-corner understeer. You eventually kill it with the throttle andaccelerate onto the pit straight."
Honda in the United Kingdom
Honda has a strong presence in the UK. The company sold 106,018 vehicleshere last year, making it the biggest European market, and sales were drivenby strong demand for the Civic, Jazz and CR-V models.
The UK is the home of Honda's UK Manufacturing car plant in Swindon, whichproduced 237,783 units in 2007. One of these was the millionth Honda Civic,which came off the line in November 2007, with the two millionthSwindon-produced car - a silver CR-V - coming off the line on21 February 2008.
New to HondaRacingF1.com
Honda Racing TV will be previewing the British Grand Prix with an exclusiveinterview with Jenson Button on his home race. Also featured will be anin-depth look at traction control and how the drivers have adapted to itsremoval this year.
ENDS
British Grand PrixSilverstone, 4-6 July 2008
JENSON BUTTONon his home Grand Prix
THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX
The 2008 British Grand Prix will be Jenson Button's ninth Formula One raceat Silverstone. His best result is fourth in 2004, and he has finished inthe points on three other occasions. Jenson has started on the front rowonce, in 2005.
Are you looking forward to racing at Silverstone?"I always look forward to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as it's myhome race and therefore a very special weekend for me. I love the layout ofthe track because it's very fast and flowing, and I have a lot of goodmemories from when I used to spectate at the British Grand Prix as a boy."
How much of a lift does the home support give you?"The fans are great and I love seeing all the Union Jacks in thegrandstands. But it's also a bit frustrating at the moment because I want togive them better results than I'm currently able to. The Honda Racing F1Team's headquarters is located only seven miles from the track, so therewill be a lot of people from the factory supporting us there. With the raceselling-out on all three days, there will be a fantastic atmosphere."
What's your favourite corner at Silverstone?"The Becketts complex is my favourite combination of corners in the world.You enter it flat-out in seventh gear, so the speeds are extremely high, andyou have to be very precise with your line. The change of direction that youcarry through there is just mind-blowing.When you get this section right, you come out with the biggest smile on yourface. It's a fantastic place to watch the race from."
Why are you using a new helmet design for the British Grand Prix?"I recently ran a competition on my website, www.jensonbutton.com, in whichI asked fans to design my helmet colour scheme for Silverstone. We had astaggering 7055 entries and I've opted for the design by Aries Janssens fromDenbighshire in the UK, which I'll unveil on Thursday at the track. What Ilike about Aries' design is that it's very British and very me. By very me,I mean very patriotic. His design incorporates my logo and my name, and the'o' in Jenson is a Union Jack button. Good work, Aries!"
THE 2008 SEASON
This is Jenson's ninth season in Formula One. He has driven for Williams(2000), Benetton (2001-2002), BAR-Honda (2003 - 2005) and the Honda RacingF1 Team (2006-2008).
Jenson has contested 143 races to date, from which he's taken one win, foursecond places and 10 third places. He has started from pole position threetimes and led a total of 124 laps.
Where are you at in your career?"Firstly I'm in Formula One and that is every driver's primary goal.Beyond that it's a question of where you are in F1, whether you're in a goodteam and whether you have the experience to challenge for the WorldChampionship. I'm only 28 years old, yet this is already my ninth year in F1so I have the necessary experience to win the title. I haven't got the carunderneath me to do that at the moment, but that will come."
What are you doing to improve the performance of this year's car?"I tell the team exactly how it performs on the track, where it's weak andwhere it's strong. I'm working much harder now than I did in 2004, when Ifinished third in the World Championship, because that's what you have to doto get back to the front. I make sure that the team are making the changesthat need to be made."
When you know you can't challenge for wins, what's your motivation?"I love what I do, so I have no problems with motivation. It isn't niceknowing that I'm going into the British Grand Prix without a realisticchance of battling at the front, but when I'm in the car I push 110 percent.That's what I do every time I get in the car; it's what I have to do todrive the team forward and ahead of what will be a better year in 2009."
FITTER THAN EVER BEFORE
The cockpit of a Formula One car is one of the harshest environments insport. Temperatures regularly exceed 50 degrees and the drivers often pull5G while braking and cornering.
Jenson understands the physical and psychological benefits that come withbeing as fit as possible, which is why he's one of the best-prepared driverson the grid. Ahead of each season he heads to Club La Santa on the island ofLanzarote for several intensive training camps, at which he cycles, runs,swims and weight trains.
This year, for the first time, he has combined all of those disciplines tocontest in the demanding event of triathlon. In his first event, theSevenoaks Sprint Triathlon (400m swim, 27km bike, 8km run), Jenson finished16th out of 250 starters; in the second, the Windsor Triathlon which wasJenson's first Olympic distance event (1500m swim, 43km bike, 10km run), hecame home an impressive 117th out of 1700.
Why have you taken up triathlons?"I like the pain and I like pushing my body to the limit. I also enjoy thefact that there's nobody else involved. It's just me on my own and if I'mnot quick enough, then it's solely down to me The Windsor triathlon earlierthis month was a big event; there were a lot of spectators lining the routeand it felt weird to hear people shouting my name because I've normally gota helmet on and can only hear the engine noise!."
Which of the three triathlon disciplines is your strongest?"At Windsor, I'd say the swim was my best. It was 1500m in the River Thamesand at the end I was in 90th position out of the 1700 entrants.I've done a lot of swimming since I was a boy and one of the reasons I enjoyit is because it's all about technique. I've developed my own style over theyears, although I'm told that I still don't roll enough in the water."
What benefits do the triathlons give you in the cockpit?"The main benefit from the multi-discipline triathlon event is overallfitness. The bike is particularly good because you build up lactic acid,which is what happens in the car, due to the vibrations. Swimming is goodfor upper body strength and I also work my neck while I'm in the water.Triathlons are competition, which is what F1's all about, and knowing thatI'm one of the fittest drivers on the grid makes me feel very strongpsychologically."
