Button upbeat about Honda's speed

The British driver, looking for his seventh consecutive points finish of the season, posted a promising fifth quickest time in the afternoon.

Button was the second fastest racing driver behind Toyota's Jarno Trulli.

"We have made improvements throughout the day as we've tried various set-up options. The balance was better this afternoon as the track improved and our pace seems encouraging," said Button."

"We had a few problems with traffic, particularly in the afternoon session, but it didn't impact on the running too much.  Anthony (Davidson) was able to cover a lot of laps so we will have plenty of information to look through tonight."

Local hero Rubens Barrichello was not as happy after struggling with his car's handling, the Brazilian posting the 13th quickest time of the day.

"I had a few issues with the set-up of the car to begin with but we made improvements this afternoon," said Barrichello. "The car has been quite slow on the straights which we need to look into tonight to find the reason.

"We got some useful work done today but there is still a lot of work to be done as I am not completely satisfied with the car."