20/08/2005
NEWS STORY
A solid day's running in preparation for qualifying ended with frustration for the B·A·R Honda team this afternoon as Jenson Button and Takuma Sato both ran wide in turn 8 - the long, high-speed left-hander. Despite recovering they now find themselves in 13th and 14th-place grid slots for tomorrow's race.
Jenson was trading places at the top of the timesheets throughout the morning's free practice running, ending each of the two sessions as the second fastest driver. Takuma was 5th and 6th fastest respectively in free practice.
They will now line-up side by side on the 7th row of the grid and despite their disappointment both drivers are firmly focused on doing the best possible job to achieve a two-car points finish for the B·A·R Honda team in the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix.
Jenson Button: "It was a very disappointing qualifying lap because in practice today we didn't have any issues with the high-speed corner but we could see that other teams were struggling with the rear end quite a bit. It's a shame because we have been quick here so far this weekend. But all is not lost. I will start from P13 on the grid tomorrow and I'm sure that we can still do something very positive from there."
Takuma Sato: "After such a positive start to this Grand Prix, it's a shame to have such a disappointing qualifying session. Unfortunately, in turn 8 my car bottomed a lot creating understeer and I ran wide. I feel sorry for the team because we were all hopeful of better things today. All I can do from here is stay positive and do the best job I possibly can to make good progress through the field tomorrow. As for the incident with Mark Webber, we had a radio interference problem and the team were unable to tell me his position on the track."
Gil de Ferran: "It is fair to say that we are disappointed with our qualifying result. Both drivers have been running very well throughout the weekend, always at the sharp end of the timesheets, so we were obviously hoping for good grid positions. Nevertheless, the fact that the cars have been running competitively still bodes well for the race tomorrow."
Shuhei Nakamoto: "Obviously the session today was not ideal but the car has been good so far this weekend. We will have to work hard to collect more points in the race tomorrow."