Honda duo disappointed to miss points

The RA107 showed signs of improvement throughout practice and qualifying and hopes had been high before the race that Honda could take their first points of the season.

But after failing to have a strong enough pace in the race, and not making the most of strategy opportunities, Barrichello and Button crossed the line in 10th and 11th places respectively.

Barrichello said: "I'm disappointed with 10th because I thought we had a shot at the points today but the opportunities did not materialise.

"After my first pitstop I was held up by (Alexander) Wurz and that was that really. I was a little bit faster than him and if I could have got past then there was a chance to close the gap and get closer to the points, but there was no possibility to overtake.

"Overall I think we have had a slightly better weekend and we just have to keep pushing now and continue to move in the right direction. I hope for better things in Canada."

Button added: "A difficult race today. I was stuck in traffic in all three stints and never got a clear run, so I couldn't make the most of the strategy.

"After yesterday's qualifying it is disappointing but we have to take some encouragement from the signs of improvement we saw here earlier in the weekend, keep our heads down and focus on what we are doing to move us forward."

Despite missing out on points in Monaco, engineering director Jacky Eeckelaert remains confident that they will have another chance in the next race in Canada.

"We have clearly made a step in the right direction and we are now knocking on the door of the points placings," he said.

"Despite no testing before the two North American races, we will have some improvements with which to try to close the gap to the teams directly in front of us."