Europe: Jenson sees race pace improving

By Phil Huff
May 3 2006

Following a successful test at Silverstone, Honda racing F1's Jenson Button heads off to Germnay for the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

“We had a positive test at Silverstone this week in which we made good progress and took another step closer to the competition," says Button, hoping that the performance gained at the Northamptonshire track will translate into a good result in the European GP.

However, the European race hasn't been kind to Jenson over the years. Qualifying an average of 13th on the grid, Button's managed just one podium from the 2004 race.

"Apart from a podium at the Nurburgring two years ago, I haven’t had that much success at this track," he explains. "It’s a very low grip circuit with a lot of corners off-camber so when you arrive into the corner, it’s vital to get the correct line.

However, the Silverstone test has proved valuable to the Briton. "I think we are starting to see our race pace improve relative to our strong qualifying pace," Jenson adds, "and we should feel positive as we head to Germany.”