Button still confident

Jenson Button insists he is approaching this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix full of confidence despite his nightmare recent run.

The Englishman has scored points just once in the last four races after Honda’s early-season promise evaporated.

But he is refusing to be downcast ahead of qualifying in Montreal, where he started from pole position last year, despite a painful early retirement at Silverstone two weeks ago.

Button, who was sixth and 13th in yesterday’s first practice sessions, said: “It was a tough weekend but we are not getting down, no-one in the factory is down or giving up.

“They are still giving everything because they know that we will be achieving in the future, it’s just that it is not going to happen straight away like we expected.

“The morale is good within the team. We are not happy, we are disappointed with the results we have had but it doesn’t stop people working hard. We are still very focused.”

However, Button’s optimism stopped short of predicting a return to the podium this weekend, with the 26-year-old hoping simply to get back among the points scorers.

“How are we going to do in Canada? Hopefully well,” he added. “Testing in Monza went well. I am pretty positive.

“We are not going to set the world alight, we are not going to be challenging the Renaults or the Ferraris but we will be a lot closer.

“The main thing for us is to get the best out of the car that we possibly can with the package we have, which for me is a better package than we have had for the last few races.

“We don’t really know where we stand at the moment. We are definitely aiming for points, after that we will wait and see. We will get everything we can out of the car.”

Button’s team-mate Rubens Barrichello was also upbeat after practice but he admitted a top-six result in this afternoon’s qualifying session is likely to be beyond Honda.

The Brazilian, who was fifth and 12th yesterday, said: “I was optimistic coming here because testing at Monza was good but I didn’t know whether that was going to translate into a good result or not.

“The balance has been getting better and I found something right at the end which I liked.

“But if we want to qualify in the top six a little bit more, especially with the rear.

“It is up to us to find a little bit more. We are more competitive, a little bit more, than the last race.”

World champion Fernando Alonso did not set a lap time in first practice but made his presence felt in the second session by recording the fastest lap from a race driver. BMW-Sauber tester Robert Kubica topped both sessions.