Honda aim to maximise current package

The Japanese squad's new RA107 has failed to live up to the team's expectations and, as revealed by autosport.com, they plan a major upgrade for the Malaysian Grand Prix, hoping it will boost their chances of fighting at the top.

Until then, however, the team's technical director Shuhei Nakamoto admits they will try to do the best they can with the package they have.

"We have set high targets for this, our second season as a 100% Honda team, and, as always, are excited about getting down to business at the Australian Grand Prix," said Nakamoto.

"Although we have made some progress in the recent test in Bahrain, we still have to find more improvements to take us to where we want to be.

"Our race pace looks stronger than our qualifying pace at the moment. All in all, we must try to get the best out of our current package, whilst continuing to work hard on the development of new items for the test in Sepang after Melbourne."

Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello is also confident the team have enough resources to recover from their slow start.

"We have made some significant progress through pre-season testing since the launch of the RA107 but there is still work to do," said Barrichello.

"I have no doubt that with the resources of Honda, we can continue to improve the car throughout the season and we have a lot to look forward to."