Britain's
Jenson Button is expecting to
Honda to be competitive at the Spanish Grand Prix this coming weekend, the fourth round in the 2008
F1 World Championship.
Button has yet to open his account this year and while he has only got to the chequered flag in one of the first three races, when he was tenth in Malaysia, he is hopeful that he will be able to make it into the top-ten shoot-out on Saturday in Barcelona and from there have a 'strong' race.
"Our performance over the first three races showed a steady rate of improvement which was encouraging for the whole team and has given us renewed confidence in the car," he explained.
"Although I was not able to complete much mileage at the test last week due to the weather, the team had three days evaluating the new upgrades, so I am confident that we are in good shape.
"The circuit here is very familiar so we will make the best use of our time on track to fine-tune the set-up of the car.
"We hope to be challenging for a top ten qualifying position again which would put us in position for a strong race."
Honda team principal Ross Brawn meanwhile shares Jenson's optimism - as does
Rubens Barrichello. Indeed both believe that the RA108 will be more competitive.
"The team has made good progress at each race so far this season, gaining in confidence and performing better on each occasion," Ross continued.
"Our recent development push on the RA108 with a new aerodynamic package, suspension modifications and driveability improvements showed pleasing results during the four-day test last week.
"I expect these developments to add to our competitiveness and improve our points scoring potential at the Spanish Grand Prix and the races to follow."
Rubens echoed those thoughts: "We had a very successful four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya and were able to work through a lot of test items," the Brazilian added. "Our main focus was the mechanical and aerodynamic developments for the RA108 car at this race.
