With last year’s race weekend having been almost entirely dominated by wet weather, the team was keen to make the most of today’s dry track with Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet running busy programmes. Between them they covered a total of 149 laps as they gathered circuit data, completed set-up work and evaluated the two compounds of Bridgestone tyres.

After a positive day, the team is in good shape and will look to continue its recent form with a strong showing in tomorrow’s qualifying session.

Fernando Alonso
“It was a trouble-free day. We covered lots of laps, which was the priority and that allowed us to advance with our programme. The first signs are therefore encouraging and we will now review our data and work on our settings ahead of the final free practice session tomorrow morning to be ready for qualifying.”

Nelson Piquet
“The circuit is interesting, not particularly difficult, and I was able to get comfortable with it quite quickly. We have made good progress with our technical programme today and although we still have a lot to do from now until tomorrow, it’s definitely a good start and a sound basis to work from for the rest of the weekend.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“With limited running last year in dry conditions, we really approached today as if Fuji was a brand new circuit. Our main focus as always was to sort out the tyres and we feel happy with the result, our balance is reasonable, and all in all it was a good day for us.”

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
“Today we worked on the usual things that we look at on the Friday of a Grand Prix weekend: tyres, the behaviour of the car with different fuel loads, gear ratios, and cooling. The day went smoothly without any major issues and we made the most of the good track conditions. It’s still difficult to judge the hierarchy after the first couple of sessions, but today’s results suggest we can have reasonable hopes for the rest of the weekend.”

The Honda Racing F1 Team began the on-track preparations for its home Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway in Japan today with race drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button completing 143 laps of the 4.563km (2.835-mile) circuit.

After the persistent rain of last year's Japanese Grand Prix, the team was pleased to achieve some valuable dry running under sunny skies. The conditions gave the Honda drivers the opportunity to complete an extensive test programme and find the right aerodynamic balance between straightline speed and slow-speed grip required at this technically demanding racetrack.

Their best laps were separated by just 0.016s during the opening 1.5-hour session and placed them in 16th and 17th positions. Rubens was the faster of the two, completing five more laps than Jenson.

Lap times fell quickly in the afternoon as the grip levels increased. Both drivers improved their lap times significantly, with Rubens setting a best time of 1:19.258s which placed him 15th overall. Jenson was not able to achieve such a good balance on new tyres and finished the session 0.7s slower than his team-mate.

RESULTS

Drivers                          Car No.        Chassis No.          Free Practice 1                                    Free Practice 2       
Rubens Barrichello         17                 RA108-03          32 laps          01:20.753          P16                  42 laps    01:19.258          P15       
Jenson Button                  16                 RA108-05          27 laps          01:20.769          P17                  42 laps    01:19.999          P20       

Weather                         Warm and sunny        
Temperatures              Air: 22-22°C     Track: 28-36°C        

RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Q. What were you able to achieve on the first day of running at Fuji?       
A. "Just like last year, we have had a dry first day of practice and by the end of the afternoon we were able to achieve a reasonable balance with the car on new tyres. The weather forecast for the weekend looks interesting so we need to take a close look at that. However if it stays dry, then I believe we have a chance to progress to the second qualifying session."       

JENSON BUTTON

Q. What issues did you face in practice today?               
A. "We were able to make progress on the balance of the car on older tyres by the end of the afternoon session, however achieving a good balance was our main problem throughout the day. On new tyres at the end of the second session, I just had very little grip and it felt like the tyres were graining immediately. We will have to look at the reasons for this ahead of qualifying tomorrow."       

STEVE CLARK
Head of Race & Test Engineering

Q. Sum up the first free practice sessions at the Fuji Speedway today?               
A. "Our focus for today was an evaluation of downforce levels and set-up with the RA108 in addition to gathering information on the tyres. We have had two productive sessions to prepare for the race, although our position on the timesheets does not necessarily reflect the level of good work that we have achieved."        
               
Q. What does the rest of the weekend hold?       
A. "The weather forecast is for rain overnight so we expect to tomorrow morning's final practice session will take place on a damp or wet track. It should then remain dry for the rest of the weekend. Whilst tomorrow will provide a clearer indication of our performance level, we are fully aware that our car is not well suited to this circuit and our focus will be on achieving the maximum from the package that we have."       

10 October 2008 - The Force India Formula One Team put in some productive work today at the 4.563km Fuji Speedway, set against the stunning backdrop of Japan's sacred mountain, Mount Fuji.

2006 Japanese F3 champion Adrian Sutil used his extensive experience of the track to finish inside the top 12 in the first practice session, just over one second from the morning's fastest time, and 16th in the afternoon. Giancarlo Fisichella meanwhile pushed on with his programme of gathering mechanical data and evaluating tyres to end the sessions in 20th and 18th overall. Both drivers were within one second of the fastest time of the day, the closest practice in F1 this season.

The duo will participate in a final practice session tomorrow morning before qualifying forSunday's 67 lap race.

Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'It's been a good day as the car worked well with no problems. The last run in the afternoon was not great as I had some traffic on my quick lap and couldn't improve my time, but at least there is more potential for tomorrow. It's always an advantage if you know the circuit well and I just feel good here. I was quick here last year so I think it's one of my good tracks. I'm looking forward to tomorrow now.'

Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
'It was quite a difficult day for me, especially this morning. In the afternoon when we were working on the longer runs we made a step forward with the balance, but we still struggled with oversteer and getting the tyres to work well. We still have a lot to do here, but I'm hopeful we can improve here tomorrow.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer 'A useful first day of running for us as we worked through our normal programme. We had no real problems on either cars as we evaluated the tyres options available here, and all in all we look to be a lot more competitive than we were in Singapore. We seem to be back on the pace that we showed in previous races, which bodes well for the rest of the weekend.'