Button targets Montreal win

Button has finished on the podium five times in seven races this season but has yet to win, despite a pole position at Imola and a close second placed finish at Monaco, and this has primed his confidence looking ahead to next weekend's Canadian GP.

"My aim is to get on the podium and this is a race I would love to win, given the chance," said Button. "The step with the engine should be an improvement for us. We know it's going to be quick, but we don't know by how much yet."

Button finished third in the European Grand Prix last weekend, but was out-raced by his team-mate Takuma Sato who battled with Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello for second place. But even this has not dented Button's confidence because he knows where he went wrong.

"We were very strong in free practice at the Nürburgring, but it showed how important it is to qualify well," he said. "I didn't get a very good lap in qualifying and this made it very difficult for me in the race. Having said that, to not have a good race and still be able to get a podium shows our strength.

"I'm very confident as we head to Canada. The performance of the tyres should be good at this track and I think the car will work well. The track also demands a car which, mechanically, is very strong - and our car is. There are a lot of very slow chicanes in addition to the long straights."

Sato is still waiting to score his first podium, but on the strength of recent performances from the Japanese driver, it's a matter of when rather than if.

"The performance of the team has been very strong over the past few races and I am really looking forward to Montreal and Indianapolis - and to achieving what I hope will be my first podium," he said. "Once again, this is a track that I have raced at only once before, but the circuit characteristics - the chicane with high kerbs and the hairpin in particular - are similar to Imola, where we were very competitive. They should suit the car and I am expecting us to perform well.

"Honda has been working very hard to introduce a good step with both power and reliability for Canada, so I'm feeling confident and eager to pick up where I left off at the Nürburgring two weeks ago."