Honda have full faith in Barrichello

Barrichello failed to score a world championship point last season and there were rumours towards the end of the year that his place at the team could be under threat.

But ahead of a season that will make him the most experienced driver in the history of F1, Honda Racing's chiefs have complete faith that Barrichello will shine once again - especially now that he is about to renew his working relationship with team principal Ross Brawn.

Honda Racing chief executive Nick Fry told autosport.com: "This year was difficult for him, but he is looking incredibly slim. He is obviously training extremely hard and he has got someone in Ross who he has worked with before and knows what he is capable of. That has really motivated him."

Fry admitted that Barrichello's enthusiasm had suffered this year because of the troubles the team faced with the RA107, but he thinks things will be very different in 2008.

"For someone who has been in F1 at a top team like Ferrari for a long time, when he ended up with a weak car then motivation does get more difficult," he said. "A young person who doesn't know what to expect or what he should be getting is able to keep going a bit longer.

"But both drivers worked hard and Rubens has got the speed. This year, especially early on, he was nip and tuck with Jenson. And he has been training incredibly hard.

"He has promised me for next year that he is going to: 'drive his balls off!'"

Honda team principal Ross Brawn, who worked with Barrichello at Ferrari, has said he has no worries about the qualities of Barrichello or Button.

"I'm very happy with the two drivers we've got and I've got no concerns with them in terms of achieving our objectives," he said.

"I know Rubens very well and he was always able to push Michael (Schumacher) - to the point where we had to hold him back sometimes, as you will recall! Give him the right equipment and he can win races, so Rubens is not going to be the reason why we don't succeed.

"And I feel the same about Jenson. He's been able to win a race and clearly he's an exceptional driver and he won't be the reason why we fail - we'll fail because we don't create the equipment.

"We've got two very good drivers - I know Rubens very well and I'm looking forward to working with Jenson."