Monaco: An extremely tough afternoon

By Honda Racing F1
May 28 2006

Rubens Barrichello brought home five championship points today at the end of a tough Monaco Grand Prix for the Honda Racing F1 Team.

He got a good start on heavy fuel, holding 5th position off the grid, and maintained a solid performance throughout the 78-lap race. Rubens enjoyed a thrilling battle with Jarno Trulli for much of the race and a superbly executed pit stop on lap 46 meant the Brazilian rejoined the action ahead of Trulli. Rubens battled with oversteer but pushed hard and was challenging for a podium position until he was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He closed in on David Coulthard, finishing only a second behind despite losing 13 seconds as he took the penalty.

On the other side of the garage it was a long hard afternoon for Jenson Button. He never really recovered from his 13th position on the grid and came home in 11th place.

Gil de Ferran
Sporting Director
Honda Racing F1

"An extremely tough afternoon full of highs and lows. Both drivers were struggling with the balance of the car throughout the race, nevertheless due to Rubens' good grid position, he eventually found himself in a podium position. Of course we were devastated with Rubens' drive-through penalty, although 4th place is his best result with our team so far. Jenson was unable to recover from the low grid position, especially given the handling difficulties we were having."

Shuhei Nakamoto
Engineering Director
Honda Racing Development

"Rubens battled hard today and nearly achieved a podium finish for us. Monaco has always proved to be a tough race on the cars and engines and I am pleased we got both engines to the end of their second races."