Honda aiming to improve qualifying pace

Honda team principal Ross Brawn says the Japanese squad's priority for the Belgian Grand Prix will be to improve their qualifying performance

Although the team believe they made a step forward during the summer break, they failed to materialise their potential and have ended up with disappointing results in the last races.

Both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have struggled to fare well in qualifying, with the Briton's 12th position their best grid result since Canada.

And Brawn reckons it is vital for the team to raise their game on Saturday to achieve better results.

"We made a significant step forward with the RA108 over the summer break, however we were not able to convert that potential into a strong qualifying and race performance in Valencia which was disappointing," said Brawn.

"Our priority for the Belgian Grand Prix weekend will be to optimise those performance steps and improve our qualifying performance to give Jenson and Rubens the best possible chance of a good race result.

"Following last week's test in Monza, we will have developments to our braking system which should resolve the issues which Rubens faced in Valencia, in addition to a specific aerodynamic package for the medium downforce levels required at Spa."

Barrichello was also confident the problems that hindered him at the European Grand Prix are now behind him.

"Our test in Monza last week was positive and we expect to have resolved the braking problems which affected my weekend in Valencia," said the Brazilian.