  September 26, 2004 |
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Formula One World Championship
Round 16: China GP
Button Races To Sensational Second At Shanghai
B·A·R Honda's Button and Sato finish second and sixth in China |
The Lucky Strike B·A·R Jenson Button drove a sensational race
at Shanghai today, bringing his car home in second place in the inaugural Chinese
Grand Prix. Japanese team-mate Takuma Sato put in an equally impressive performance,
racing from 18th on the grid to finish sixth. Today's points haul of 11 strengthens
B·A·R Honda's second place in the constructors' championship and guarantees the
team will finish at least third. B·A·R Honda now has 105 points and is nine points
ahead of closest rival Renault.
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Jenson Button |
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Jenson Button |
Having qualified third on the grid for the 56 lap race, Button got away smoothly
but battled with Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Felipe Massa (Sauber), falling
back to P5 behind Massa by the end of lap one. The B·A·R Honda driver shot past
the Brazilian two laps later and started to reel in third-placed Alonso. The Briton,
who was clearly on a charge, snatched P3 from Alonso on lap seven, and went on
to set a string of fastest laps.
Lap 12 saw Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen peel off
into the pits, moving Button into the lead. The Honda-powered star came in for
his own first of two scheduled stops on lap 14, rejoining the action in third
place behind Raikkonen. Button continued to set consistently quick laps and moved
up into P2 on lap 27 when the McLaren driver pitted. Having reclaimed the lead
two laps later when Barrichello pitted, Button left the race action for his second
and final stop on lap 35, getting back on track in third position.
One lap later the B·A·R Honda driver was back up into second place as three-stopping
Raikkonen pitted again. Button started to catch race-leader Barrichello but the
Brazilian managed to maintain enough of a lead to rejoin ahead of him in first
place after his third and final pit stop on lap 42.
Having driven a stunning race, Button pushed hard and chipped away at the Ferrari
driver's lead, gaining on him by almost half a second a lap during the closing
stages. Button went on to cross the line in P2, just one second off Barrichello,
to score his ninth and the team's 10th podium finish this season.
Sato, who started from 18th on the grid as Minardi's Zsolt Baumgartner was demoted
to 19th due to an engine change on Saturday, made up four places to 14th at the
start. On lap three the Japanese ace dived past Nick Heidfeld's Jordan for P13
and by lap 16 was up into fourth place behind team-mate Button as those ahead
of him pitted. Two laps later Sato came in for his first of two visits to the
pits, and after a good clean nine-second stop, rejoined the action in 11th place
ahead of Montoya.
By lap 34 Honda-powered Sato was back up into P4 as the second pit stop sequence
unfolded. Four laps later Sato pitted, one of the last two-stopping drivers to
do so, in tandem with Montoya. Sato rejoined in seventh position ahead of the
Colombian, who then went on to overtake the Japanese driver, pushing him down
to P8. By lap 46 the B·A·R Honda ace was running in sixth place due to the pit
stops of Fisichella and Massa.
The last 10 laps were fairly uneventful for Sato, who drove a superb race to finish
an impressive sixth, having started from 18th on the grid. Today's result was
B·A·R Honda's sixth two-car points-finish and strengthens its second place in
the constructors' championship. The team now has 105 points and is nine points
clear of third-placed Renault. Button lies third in the drivers' championship
on 79 points while Sato has 26 points and is currently in eighth place.
The weather remained hot and sunny and fairly humid (track 36, air 29 degrees)
at Shanghai as Rubens Barrichello won the first-ever Chinese Grand Prix. The Ferrari
driver was joined on the podium by B·A·R Honda's Jenson Button and McLaren's Kimi
Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso (Renault), Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya and B·A·R Honda's
Takuma Sato crossed the line fourth, fifth and sixth while the Sauber pairing
of Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa took the final two point scoring positions.
Jenson Button, Position: 2nd
"It's fantastic to finish on the podium in the first-ever Chinese Grand Prix and
to achieve my fourth second place finish this season. We came here needing to
keep Renault at bay for second in the championship and a nine-point lead is exactly
what we were looking for. It's a great result for the whole team and well done
to them for a great job. I didn't get a good start; in fact losing two places
off the grid was disastrous. Today proved again that our first win is getting
closer but starts are something we'll need to look at before we can take the next
step up. Our strategy was good but it was so hard to push versus the three-stoppers,
so in the end I had to concentrate on keeping Raikkonen behind me. It's been a
great race for B·A·R Honda, China and F1 and I'm looking forward to keeping up
the fight in Japan in two weeks time."
Takuma Sato, Position: 6th
"This is a great result for the team! I am delighted with our performance today,
with one car on the podium and my car starting from the back of the grid still
scoring good points. I fought a hard battle having heavy fuel on board, but I
was able to enjoy the race and at the end of the day to be able to finish in sixth
place is a great team effort. I am happy that we have moved even further ahead
of Renault. This first Chinese Grand Prix has been a great success with really
exciting racing and I am now really looking forward to the next race at Suzuka."
Shuhei Nakamoto - Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development
"I think we put on a good show for the new Chinese audience today. Both drivers
clearly gave it everything and we have done very well to get them both solidly
into the points. Let's go one better at Suzuka next time!"
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Formula One World Championship
Round 16: China GP
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| 1 |
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R Barrichello (Ferrari) |
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| 2 |
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J Button (BAR Honda) |
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| 3 |
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K Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes) |
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| 4 |
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F Alonso (Renault) |
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| 5 |
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JP Montoya (Williams BMW) |
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| 6 |
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T Sato (BAR Honda) |
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| 7 |
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G Fisichella (Sauber Petronas) |
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| 8 |
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F Massa (Sauber Petronas) |
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| 9 |
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D Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes) |
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| 10 |
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M Webber (Jaguar) |
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| 11 |
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J Villeneuve (Renault) |
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| 12 |
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M Schumacher (Ferrari) |
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| 13 |
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N Heidfeld (Jordan Ford) |
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| 14 |
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O Panis (Toyota) |
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| 15 |
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T Glock (Jordan Ford) |
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| 16 |
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Z Baumgartner (Minardi) |
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Jenson Button |
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