HONDA F1

First points of the year for Rubens Barrichello in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Honda Racing F1 Team added three points to its tally in the World Championship this afternoon, when Rubens Barrichello finished sixth in the Monaco Grand Prix. His team-mate Jenson Button came home in 11th place.

It was an eventful race from start-to-finish. Both Honda Racing F1 Team drivers made good starts, but Jenson’s hopes of a points finish were over before the end of the opening lap when he collided with Nick Heidfeld on the exit of the Swimming Pool. He pitted immediately to replace his front wing, but rejoined the race in 20th place.

Rubens, meanwhile, circulated in 11th place during the early laps. The Safety Car was then deployed on lap eight for the first time when David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais crashed at Massanet. The debris was cleared quickly and the race re-started only two laps later, and by lap 16 Rubens was up into the points.

As the race entered its middle section, Rubens was flying in his RA108. He set the fastest lap of the race on two consecutive laps and was up to sixth place by lap 51, having overtaken Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber. He made his only pitstop of the race on lap 54, when he fitted dry tyres and rejoined the race in eighth place.

The drama wasn’t over, however. The Safety Car was deployed for the second time on lap 61 following an accident involving Nico Rosberg, and soon after the re-start, two drivers – Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil – collided, which promoted Rubens to sixth place. The race was then stopped two laps shy of its scheduled 78 laps when it passed the two-hour time limit.

“It feels great to be back in the points today and I'm really happy for myself and for the team,” said Rubens. “We had a good race, however it was unfortunate that I was held up by Trulli for so long early on, otherwise it could have been even better. I'm glad to get the monkey off my back in terms of scoring points as it has been quite a wait, but I never lost the faith. We are capable of good points results and I hope this is the start of a stronger period for us. We just need to keep our heads down and keep pushing forward.”

Jenson’s race was a frustrating one for the Briton: “It was a messy race and I'm disappointed as we should have come away from here with some points given the pace of the car. However, Rubens had a good drive and stayed out of trouble to bring points home for the team, so well done to him."

“Today’s race was full of incident and attrition,” commented Ross Brawn, “with Rubens doing a splendid job to keep clear of all the trouble and drive a very disciplined race into sixth place. Jenson’s race had a setback when he collided with Heidfeld towards the end of the first lap, and as the race evolved, there was no opportunity for him to get back into the points despite showing great speed at times. It is satisfying to score points once again and our pace this weekend deserved it.”

The Honda Racing F1 Team now has a two-week break prior to the next race on the calendar, the Canadian Grand Prix on 8 June.