Zoom 257 starts for Rubens Barrichello

Free practice for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix kicked off in cloudy conditions at Istanbul Park today. The air and track temperatures peaked at 14 and 20 degrees respectively, making today's running the coldest at a Grand Prix so far this year.

Honda worked through a detailed set-up programme with both RA108 cars, honing the aerodynamic package to the demands of the 5.338km track. They ran reliably throughout the two 1.5-hour sessions, providing Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello with a good baseline from which to progress through the remainder of the race weekend.

In session one, the cars finished comfortably inside the top 10. Button completed 12 laps to achieve the fifth fastest time, while Barrichello ran for 11 laps to end the session 0.1s slower than his team-mate in eighth place.

Some light rain over the lunchtime break resulted in damp conditions at the start of session two, but a dry line quickly appeared and the drivers were able to continue their preparations. Button completed 28 laps with his best time of 1:28.826s placing him 11th overall, while Barrichello finished 15th on the timesheets after 22 laps, with a best time of 1:29.024s.

Jenson Button

Q. How is your RA108 performing around Istanbul Park?
"We made a lot of changes to the car after this morning when I was struggling with a lack of grip on initial turn in which you really need around here. This afternoon was much better right from the start of the session. We tried a lot of different things on the set-up and I'm confident that we know which direction to take for the rest of the weekend."

Q. Did the track conditions today work in your favour?
"It was a bit damp when we first went out this afternoon but from then on the track was fine. This circuit is very tough without traction control and you could see that a lot of people were making mistakes but that does make it more fun to watch and drive. I was certainly enjoying it out there! The car is working better on the smoother asphalt here and we have made some changes to help with the ride quality, so for me the car feels better than in Barcelona."

Rubens Barrichello

Q. What progress have you made with the RA108 today?
"The car was nicely balanced in the morning and we were pleased with our progress. However we made a mechanical change over lunch which changed the balance. It was too big a change to go back in the time available so we have some work to do overnight to understand what has changed. We should be able to get the car back to how it felt this morning, then I believe we have a good chance of getting through to Q3 tomorrow."