Zoom Rain... well the same chances for everyone...

It was a difficult qualifying session for Honda at Silverstone today. An untimely rain shower led to both drivers being knocked out after Q1 as Rubens Barrichello qualified in 16th position and Jenson Button in 17th.

Rain clouds were looming overhead as Q1 got underway, so both drivers took to the racetrack immediately to capitalise on the dry conditions. Barrichello completed one run to set a time of 1:22.510, while Button did two laps to post a time of 1:22.312.

The drivers then made subtle changes to the set-up of their RA108s before taking to the track once again. They both improved their times, Barrichello lapping in 1:21.512 and Button in 1:21.685, but they were still down in 16th and 18th positions respectively as rain began to fall at the southern end of the track, around Stowe and Club corners.

The rain stopped with three minutes of the session remaining, and despite less than ideal track conditions, both drivers ventured out of the pits in an effort to move into Q2. Button improved to a 1:21.631, despite being unable to get enough temperature into his front tyres. He moved ahead of Nico Rosberg on the timesheets, but it wasn't enough to see him take any further part in the qualifying session. Barrichello was unable to improve on his existing time.

Rubens Barrichello
"It's unfortunate that we were not able to progress further in qualifying today and I'm afraid that reflects the true potential of the car on a dry track. Out on the circuit, I thought we were through in 15th when it began to rain, but unfortunately it was just raining in the section of track that I was on and others were able to improve further round the lap, dropping me to 16th. I wasn't able to improve on my final lap at the end of the session as I had too much understeer in the car and the tyres were graining on the damp surface. We're expecting wet conditions for the race tomorrow which should make it exciting and open up possibilities if we can stay out of trouble."

Jenson Button
"It was a disappointing qualifying session today for my home Grand Prix. The brief rain shower did come just at the wrong moment for us as my final run on the completely dry track was compromised by traffic through Becketts, which left me in 18th when the shower began. So I had to go out right at the end of the session to try to improve regardless of the conditions. Unfortunately I couldn't get heat into my tyres through the first sector, which is always difficult, but even more so when the track was still slippery. I made a little bit of progress to jump Rosberg into 17th but not enough to make it into Q2. It's disappointing, but we know the car is not that competitive in the dry. It'll be a tough race but you can make progress here during the race, particularly if we have the expected wet conditions."