Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda’s Head of F1 Project and Executive Chief Engineer, felt the Brazilian Grand Prix was a race of survival as he watched Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button struggle to tenth and sixteenth on Sunday.
The two McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team drivers were forced to contend with extremely difficult conditions due to the rainfall and due to aquaplaning, and although Alonso’s late race charged from last to tenth earned him some plaudits, Hasegawa rued the race of Button who struggled with his car throughout the afternoon at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
“The rain that continued to fall throughout the day forced the Brazilian GP to be the toughest survival race of the year so far,” said Hasegawa. “Fernando unfortunately spun after the restart of the last safety car period, and dropped to nearly the back of the grid, but after a stunning charge, finished 10th to claim the final championship point of the race.
“As with yesterday, Jenson continued to struggle with the balance of his car, and with the poor track conditions, could not improve on this during his race.
“Putting the results aside, I am in awe of the courage and the driving techniques of all the drivers on the grid today. It was a nail-biting race.”
