15:18:51

Jenson Button on Monaco Race: 鈥淚 Was Stuck in Traffic in All Three ...

The Honda Racing F1 Team cars came home in 10th and 11th places in the Monaco Grand Prix, the two RA107s running nose-to-tail for most of the race, with Rubens Barrichello finishing 1.1s ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.

Rubens made an excellent start from ninth place on the grid. He made up two positions through the first corner, Ste Devote, and ended the opening lap wedged between Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber. Jenson, meanwhile, was fuelled slightly heavier than his team-mate and lost a place on the opening lap to cross the line in 11th place.

With it being notoriously difficult to overtake in Monaco, the two Honda Racing F1 Team drivers remained in seventh and 11th positions until lap 19, when Mark Webber retired from eighth place, which promoted Jenson to 10th.

19:49:11

Thailand's eco-drive

In an attempt to boost the automotive industry, while also bolstering overall investment, Thailand has finally moved forward with a long-delayed plan to become a regional hub for the production of "eco-cars". On June 15th the Board of Investment (BoI) finalised a range of incentives for the production of such vehicles, and the government has also approved a large cut in excise taxes. While it is a nice idea to develop cheap environmentally friendly cars, there are likely to be a number of obstacles to the plan's success.

Carmakers in Thailand have enjoyed stellar growth since the late 1990s, partly in response to rising local demand, and partly owing to the efforts of the government of the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, to encourage foreign investment and promote Thailand as a regional automotive hub.

8:24:26

BMW laments unfulfilled potential

BMW Sauber lamented a missed opportunity after leaving Indianapolis with just one point to show for its US Grand Prix weekend.

It was a disappointing payback for the Hinwil-based squad after it challenged Ferrari throughout practice and qualifying.

Nick Heidfeld ran fourth in the early stages but lost ground with an uncharacteristic spin just before his first pit stop and then retired with a hydraulic leak in the closing stages.

It was left to debutant Sebastian Vettel to provide the only shred of consolation by finishing eighth and becoming the youngest points-scorer in Formula 1 history.

鈥淲ithout doubt this was not the result we had hoped for," said team boss Mario Theissen.

Heidfeld said: 鈥淚 had a good start and overtook Kimi.

13:31:36

Honda dumps hybrid

TOKYO 聴 Honda will discontinue the hybrid version of its Accord sedans, the company said today, conceding Toyota's dominance with the Prius hybrid.

Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker, will continue to make gas-and-electric models of its Civic sedan but stop offering the hybrid Accord, with the new model expected to go on sale later this year, company spokesman Yoshiyuki Kuroda said in Tokyo. The Accord hybrid, which is sold only in North America, was a dud, selling just 25,000 since going on sale in 2004, and just 6,100 last year.

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