He will also have good memories of the circuit from 2005 when he took a fourth place and a win in the GP2 Series. He will also be looking forward to claim points for the first time since he last performed in front of his home crowd at the Nurburgring.
“It will be great to race in Germany in front of people that I know and people that speak my language,” he said. “I really enjoy the track and have great memories of it having won many races there over the years. After a promising test in
Jerez last week, I'm confident that we can achieve a good result in another of my home races.”
Honda Racing F1 – Rubens Barrichello (#11), Jenson Button (#12):
As far as torrid races go the French Grand Prix arguably was a new low this season for the struggling Honda F1 team. Indeed, while their fourth place in the constructors’ looks commendable from the outset, they have scored just three points since Monaco and are now arguably behind
BMW and
Toyota in the performance stakes.
Indeed, with the two teams looming in their mirrors as they eye the fourth place spot, Honda are looking for a rapid turnaround in Germany, but they can take heart in the fact that it has been a happy proving ground for them in the past as BAR.
Jenson Button in particular has become something of a Hockenheim pro with two podiums and three other points finishes to his name in six starts. Indeed, a retirement in 2002 is the only blotch on an otherwise envious record. It is form he is hoping will help him to a much needed points boost, having gone wanting now since Barcelona.
"Hockenheim is a circuit that I always enjoy and I have some great memories from previous races here after finishing on the podium in 2004 and 2005," he said. "There are some decent overtaking opportunities around the circuit and I enjoyed a good battle with
Michael Schumacher for third place last year."
"It will be very difficult to achieve a podium this time but testing went well in Jerez last week and we hope to see an improvement in our performance in the next few races.”
