Barrichello looking forward to breaking a recordJenson Button, whose status as a British Formula One champion-in-waiting was ruthlessly steamrolled by the Lewis Hamilton express, refuses to give up on his title dream despite the misery of 2007.
The Briton managed
just six points in a depressing season for his expensively-assembled Honda team - they were the only points managed by the Japanese outfit who finished third from last in the standings ahead only of Super Aguri and Spyker.
But after a tough winter of testing and with former Ferrari guru Ross Brawn on board, Button believes things can only get better.
"I want to win races and I want to be in contention to be World Champion," said Button. "The past five years have been challenging and last year was disappointing, but the team has recognised this and set about tackling the areas that have prevented us from achieving best performance."
"The changes that we have made to the team over the last six months of 2007 were exactly what the team needed to take us forward this year and I am confident that we have the right people, along with great support and resources from Honda, to achieve our targets," he declared.
Button, 28, will be racing his eighth season in Formula One in 2008 but still only has one win under his belt, which came at the rainy Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006.
He can at least take a degree of comfort from seeing his name on the points board for 2007.
Teammate
Rubens Barrichello, the weary wingman to
Michael Schumacher during the great German's title-winning run at Ferrari, finished without a point last season at the wheel of the anemic RA107.
Speaking of the new Honda RA108, he said: "It is too soon to reach any conclusions about the car's handling and performance, but I am looking forward to the Barcelona test this coming weekend and really getting to grips with the development."
"This will be my 16th season in Formula One and my third with Honda, but my love of the sport and my enthusiasm is undiminished. In fact, this year I will become the most experienced Grand Prix racer of all time, which is something that I am very proud of," stated the Brazilian.
Ross Brawn, in his new job as Team Principal, believes the test of any progress will come once the serious racing begins in Melbourne on March 16.
"Our target for 2008 is to get back to the position occupied during the second half of the 2006 season when Honda fought for points at every race," he announced. "Only then will we have a stable base from which to target more ambitious results."
"We will have to wait and see how much of a performance step has been achieved with this car," Brawn added. "But in terms of people and resources, all the right ingredients are in place with which to move Honda forward in pursuit of its racing ambitions."
Source AFP
