BAR-Honda boss David Richards has urged Jenson Button to do his utmost to win grands prix and not drive conservatively and settle for points.
BAR-Honda boss David Richards has urged Jenson Button to do his utmost to win grands prix and not drive conservatively and settle for points.
In reaction to the young Briton’s impressive drive to second place at the Monaco Grand Prix, Richards said that too many drivers played it safe in F1 and settled for second and third-place finishes.
“Too much about F1 has been about playing the odds,” he said. “When some drivers are 10 seconds behind, they tend to consolidate their position. That’s wrong and it’s not our style because we are out there to win.
“We would rather see Jenson out there fighting even if there’s a risk of throwing the car off the track than playing safe,” Richards added.
Buoyed by its fourth podium finish in six races, BAR Honda is feeling bullish about this weekend’s European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring – a track that both Button and his team-mate, Takuma Sato enjoy. It has a mixture of slow through to high-speed corners, from the revised turn 1, hairpin and chicane, to the double medium-speed “S” bends and the high speed “S” after the hairpin.
Button said: “We have a good car that should suit the Nürburgring circuit well. It’s a track I enjoy, particularly because of its high-speed corners and undulations. I have gone very well there over the last couple of years so I am really looking forward to it and can’t wait to start running on Friday morning.”
To that, Sato added: “The Nurburgring is where I had my European racing début in Formula Opel. This is a great track for me, with some high-speed technical corners and I like the way the track goes up and down hill.
