Button: team morale remains high

The Japanese squad endured their worst weekend of the season at Silverstone earlier this month, after Button failed to make it through the first stage of qualifying, starting his home race from 19th only to retire eight laps into the race with a mechanical failure.

Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello had a slightly better weekend, qualifying sixth, but finished the race in tenth and with no points.

But the British driver said the setbacks have not affected the morale among the team members, and he remains optimistic that Honda will eventually deliver, primarily on the back of a new full-scale wind tunnel.

"The last race wasn't good," Button said in Montreal. "My qualifying wasn't good, my race only lasted eight laps, and Rubens's race was pretty poor. So it was a tough weekend, but we are not getting down.

"No one at the factory is down or giving up - they are still giving everything, because they know what we will be achieving in the future.

"It is not going to be happening straight away like we expected, but it is also quite exciting because we do have the wind tunnel.

"I know it has been talked about a lot, but it does put us on more of a level playing field with the top teams - we weren't in the same situation as the top teams have been for a long time, with a full-size wind tunnel - so that will help us quite a bit for the future.

"The morale is good within the team, it really is. We are not happy with the results we have had, but it doesn't stop people from working hard. They are still very focused."

Button admitted he does not expect a complete turnaround in Honda's competitiveness for the Canadian Grand Prix, and he has set his sights on a points finish.

"We are not going to set the world alight," he commented. "We are not going to be challenging the Renaults or the Ferraris, but it will be a lot closer.

"The main thing for us is to get the best thing 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, but we are definitely aiming for points. After that, we don't know where we are going to be.

"First we have to get everything out of [the package], and then we will see on Sunday."