Honda drivers positive after practice

The British driver, who endured a disappointing race in Japan last weekend following his strongest qualifying performance of the year, finished the day in 12th position after managing nearly 60 laps in total.

"Today's running was positive with a good number of laps covered," said Button. "We were able to get a sound understanding of both the prime and option tyres and the car is working reasonably well.

"We tried a few different set-ups over the two sessions and have a lot of information to go through this evening to prepare for the rest of the weekend."

Barrichello, still using the spare car after feeling more comfortable with it in Japan, finished right behind his teammate.

"This has been a better Friday for me than at the last two races so I am pleased with our day," he said. "The car was well balanced for the long runs and the pace seems reasonable for this stage of the weekend.

"I am still using the spare car since changing chassis before qualifying in Japan and I have been happier with that. Overall a positive start to the weekend and actually better than we expected here in Shanghai."