Britain: Sights firmly set on a maiden win

By BAR F1 (08/07/2004)
July 8 2004

The hopes of a nation's Formula One fans rest largely on Lucky Strike BAR Honda's shoulders this weekend as the team prepares to do battle in its home race at Silverstone.

The race team hot-footed their way back from Magny-Cours to BAR's Northamptonshire base on Sunday night, ready to put all their efforts into the British Grand Prix, which takes place quite literally on the team's own doorstep.

Every team and driver wants to win their home event and BAR and lead driver Jenson Button are no exception. After an excellent first half of the season, in which he has brought home six trophies in ten races, Jenson's sights are firmly set on that elusive maiden win for himself and the team. There could be no better venue than Silverstone to take the victory spoils, where his legions of British fans will be out in force and practically the entire BAR workforce will take over a grandstand for the weekend to will both drivers to glory on home asphalt.

Round 11 of the Formula One World Championship is the last of three gruelling back-to-back races in the 2004 calendar, falling just one week after a disappointing French Grand Prix for the team. The problems which afflicted both Jenson and Takuma last weekend are the subject of the most rigorous investigations and the team will leave no stone unturned to ensure reliability is not an issue this Sunday.

The team consolidated its third place position in the Constructors' standings last weekend but lost all of the ground it had gained on Renault as a result of Takuma's retirement and the anti-stall trigger which cost Jenson precious time and a potential podium in his final pitstop.

Jenson geared up for his Silverstone challenge when he raced into London's Regent Street on Tuesday. Over 250,000 spectators got a rare opportunity to see Jenson and his BAR Honda race car at close quarters, albeit at a rather more sedate pace than the 300km/h plus speeds he will be unleashing this Sunday.