Following the launch of the new RA108 at the Honda Racing F1 Team's
Brackley headquarters earlier this week, the team embarked on a
three-day test programme at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Chassis RA108-01 was the focus of an initial shakedown in Valencia last
week in a pre-launch specification, but this week marked the first
intensive test programme with the first two chassis, for which race
drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button were joined by test and
reserve driver Alex Wurz.
Rubens began the test on Friday with some early acclimatisation runs in
the RA108-01 before working through various set-up changes over the
course of the day. He completed 55 laps. After driving the new car for
just a few yards at the launch event on Tuesday, Alex then gained his
first real experience of the RA108 in chassis 02, conducting an initial
shakedown programme over 26 laps.
Jenson joined the test on day two when the team concentrated on a
one-car programme whilst awaiting the arrival of further development
parts for chassis RA108-01. He completed a total of 56 laps after a
productive day's running, working through set-up options to develop the
balance of the car.
Rubens and Jenson worked side by side for the third and final day of
running today, once again focusing on chassis set-up options. A
mid-afternoon downpour cut short their dry running programmes, however
the wet conditions enabled the team to gather some useful data as both
drivers ran the car for the first time in cold and damp conditions
without traction control. Rubens completed a total of 84 laps whilst
Jenson covered 86 laps.
The team's pre-season testing programme will now move to Jerez on
12-13-14 February.
Jenson Button
"I am pleased with the reliability of the car. Generally, we have made
some progress this week but there is still a lot of work to be done in
the forthcoming tests. The car is completely new which means we are
starting from zero in terms of developing the set-up. We are also
experiencing some drivability issues as we work with the new ECU. The
weather conditions today meant that I was able to get my first wet
running in without traction control, which was good. On to Jerez next as
we continue to keep pushing forward with developing the car."
Rubens Barrichello
"It was good to run in the car at its first proper test since the
launch. There is plenty of potential in terms of working on the speed of
the car in the coming tests and this will come as we continue to make
progress with the set-up. At this stage I am happy that reliability is
certainly on our side. "
Alex Wurz
"It was good to finally experience the new car for the first time, apart
from a few short yards at the launch of course. I conducted a shakedown
of the latest chassis 02 and some aero testing. The car felt good
although there are a few adjustments to be made to my seat and
positioning in order to hit the ground running at my next test. I am
enjoying getting to know the team and how they work, so I am looking
forward to making the maximum contribution to the RA108 development
programme over the coming weeks."
Steve Clark - Head of Race & Test Engineering
"At our first proper test with the RA108 and with the benefit of two
chassis, our focus has been on basic set-up work and reliability
testing. We still have a lot of work to do on developing the set-up as
the RA108 is so different aerodynamically to its predecessor that it is
going to take some time over the next few tests to optimise the chassis
settings. We are also still working to adapt to the new ECU and this has
proved particularly difficult in the low-grip conditions we have
experienced. These challenges have been reflected in our speed here,
especially on single fast laps, although our long run consistency is a
little better. Generally, the work we have achieved gives us a good
basis for the next test in Jerez, where we will aim to further develop
the car."
-credit: honda
