Jenson Button rules out race wins

By Phil Huff
July 21 2005

Jenson Button has given up hope of Lucky Strike BAR Honda winning a race this season, admitting that the competition is just too fast.

"I don't think it will happen this year," said Button. "We are so far behind. Eight tenths of a second per lap is a lot."

While the BAR Honda 007 has proved reasonably quick, the team privately admit that a problem with the aerodynamics still exists, despite a number of significant bodywork modifications.

"There will be circuits where we will be closer," explained Button to Reuters, "and where the aerodynamics are not so important like at Monza, where we will have more of a chance, but we just don't have a good enough car this year. BAR and Honda, as we have seen in the past, have always improved the car throughout the year. But you do need to have a good base at the beginning."

The early 007 put in a number of good testing performances, but was disappointing at the season opening Australian Grand Prix, with Jenson never managing to rise above 10th place, finally withdrawing from the race classified 11th. The next race saw both cars retire within three laps.

"I think some of it is down to the new regulations and the changes, that maybe we got a little lost," Button explains further. "Look at Ferrari and how much they have lost. They've gone backwards more than we have. That would have surprised me if we were still strong, but in seeing the two leading teams of last year drop back, it shows how much the regulations have changed things."

BAR Honda's goal for 2005 was clear: to win a race. While the target was to finish fourth in the Constructors Championship, the race win was non-negotiable. While it's looking unlikely for this season, Honda's F1 project leader, Takeo Kiuchi, is confident things can be turned round. "I think we can reach our objective in the second half of the season," said Kiuchi last week.

Jenson, however, doesn't share the enthusiasm. "The overall outcome of 2005 doesn't interest me so much, although it does to the team," he says. "To finish fifth in the championship would be great, although we need a lot of work for that.

"If we take each race as it comes and get the best result we can, then we will finish fifth anyway, so there's no use having a goal at the end of the year."