Honda duo hopeful of stronger weekend

In Montreal, Barrichello retired from the race with mechanical problems while Button dropped outside the point-scoring positions to finish in ninth after struggling with his tyres.

But a strong practice on Friday has left both drivers optimistic of a better race at Indianapolis. Third driver Anthony Davidson topped the times in both sessions, with Button in eighth and Barrichello down in 18th.

"It's been a good Friday, although I don't yet have a good balance on the car," said Barrichello. "We seem to be a little more competitive than in Canada and I want this to be a much better weekend for us so we'll just keep working hard towards the race on Sunday and see how things go from here."

The team are looking to bounce back at Indy following two point-less races in a row.

"Today has been a positive day and we've made a few changes which have worked out well for us, so overall a good start to the weekend," Button said. "It's looking better than Montreal did at this stage, thankfully, and it's nice to have a car that feels normal underneath me.

"We have something we can really work with and keep improving through the rest of the weekend so fingers crossed for tomorrow and the race."