Zoom Honda have a long way to go to win in F1

Jenson Button today predicted a better season following a disastrous season last year with Honda. The struggling outfit late last year brought in Ross Brawn, a ten-year veteran of Ferrari, as its new Team Principal to work alongside CEO Nick Fry. Last year, Honda's best performance was Button's fifth place at the Chinese Grand Prix.

"I must say I'm very happy with the way things are going,” Button told reporters in Tokyo. “We are making improvements at every test in many, many areas. For me, I'm happy also because the car is a great driveable car. It's a car we can really build on, so going into 2008, I'm positive that we can have a good year.”

Testing so far however has not indicated much of an improvement from Honda with its new RA108 package, but the British racer remains upbeat. “I'm looking forward to 2008 and also the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne," he said, referring to the season opener on 16 March.

The team struggled massively last year with Button collecting only six points to finish 15th overall in the final standings. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello failed to win a single point.

"We had a very tough season last year in Formula One," Honda President Takeo Fukui said. "But we have a new organisation with Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. We are going to make a team which is capable of winning a title."

Barrichello, who has nine wins since his Formula One debut in 1993, said Brawn brought the team something extra. "The car, engineers and everyone are working very hard with Ross on leadership and now things are going to be a lot better," Barrichello said. "I know we are going to have a much better year."

E.A. © CAPSIS International
Source: AFP