Felipe Massa meanwhile is also feeling bullish, even if there are a few question marks in terms of reliability: “In the first race we managed to win but we had a reliability problem with the other car, so the obvious next step is to be in a position to have both cars at the front,” he noted. “That's not easy, but we have a good team and a good package and everyone is working very hard. I am confident we will be very strong again this weekend.”
Honda – Jenson Button (#7), Rubens Barrichello (#8):
Confirming the predictions after pre-season testing, Honda struggled to match its rivals in Melbourne, with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button off the pace throughout the weekend.
The Sepang group test may have given the team some glimmer of hope, but senior technical director Shuhei Nakamoto was not expecting a huge turnaround in Malaysia.
“We focused our efforts [at the test] on evaluating aerodynamic developments for the RA107 alongside work on braking stability and general mechanical set-up," he revealed, "Although we were unable to realise our potential in Australia, we are confident that the RA107 is fundamentally a good car and expect to be able to make good technical progress with it in a wide range of areas. We will use the next few races to improve to a more competitive level.”
For Button, that news means that he cannot expect to reprise his first ever
F1 podium, which came back in 2004.
"For a really quick lap, you need a car which is aerodynamically sound, but with the least drag possible," he explained, "Sepang is a very tough track and the race weekend is hard work for everyone, not just the drivers behind the wheel, but for the team and the car as well. Too much front end grip will lose you a lot of time in turns five and six, although it has some great opportunities for overtaking, such as turn one, the right hander at Langkawi and the left hander at Berjaya Tioman."
The Briton only made Q2 in Melbourne by the skin of his teeth and finished 15th, one place back on his grid position after being handed a drive-thru'
