Jenson Button was the faster of the Lucky Strike Bďż˝Aďż˝R Honda drivers today as the first free practice sessions for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix got underway in Budapest.

The Hungaroring basked in glorious sunshine and temperatures reaching 36ďż˝C, with the track temperature soaring to a 50ďż˝C high. As a result, the cockpit of the Bďż˝Aďż˝R Honda 007 was a very uncomfortable place to be, although Jenson got off to a good start this morning with the 3rd fastest time of the first session. This afternoon he focused on long-run tyre programmes and ended the day 9th overall.

His team-mate Takuma Sato was 9th this morning but this afternoon he suffered a driveshaft boot failure which confined his car to the garage for the second half of the session. He therefore ended the day 17th.

JENSON BUTTON

Free Practice 1 Position: 3rd Fastest lap time: 1:23.028
Free Practice 2 Position: 9th Fastest lap time: 1:22.554

"A very straightforward and positive first day for us. We've had no distractions from our usual set-up and tyre programme and we achieved plenty of running. It is however extremely hot, but that's what we've come to expect from the Hungaroring and we train to deal with these conditions. So far, so good and let's hope for the same from the rest of the weekend."

TAKUMA SATO

Free Practice 1 Position: 9th Fastest lap time: 1:23.679 Free Practice 2 Position: 17th Fastest lap time: 1:23.560

"The first session went well this morning - it was pretty straightforward running. This afternoon we tried a slightly different set-up and the car was performing well until we had a driveshaft boot failure which ended my session early. It's a shame that I could not do my scheduled programme this afternoon so I will have to rely on Michelin's advice and hope that we have a trouble-free day tomorrow."

GIL DE FERRAN, SPORTING DIRECTOR

"A very straightforward day on Jenson's car. We did all the work on tyre evaluation, as we usually do on Fridays, but it seems that we can find more speed by improving the balance a little since both drivers are not 100% happy. Unfortunately on Taku's car, we had a small problem that stopped him after the first run of the second session, curtailing most of his planned programme. Fortunately we should be able to use most of what we learnt on the other car to the benefit of both drivers."

SHUHEI NAKAMOTO, ENGINEERING DIRECTOR, HONDA RACING DEVELOPMENT

"Jenson had a good day but unfortunately Taku lost the end of the second session because of a driveshaft boot failure. We have to do more set-up work but the engine is working very well and we completed quite a lot of laps. We will push hard to achieve a strong finish for both cars this weekend."

2005 Hungarian Grand Prix - Main Page

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