Italy preview quotes: Honda

"I've walked around the old banking part of the track and have so much respect for the guys who used to race on there. Monza is very different from most of the circuits that we race on during the year. It's quick and you have to run such low downforce to get the straightline speed that is needed to take advantage of the straights. Ascari is probably my favourite part of the track and you can have a lot of fun through there.

"Parabolica is also good, particularly in qualifying when you're trying to get the most out of the car and brake as late as possible whilst you are turning it. If you brake a little late, you're off into the gravel and probably the wall. But if you get it right and have a good qualifying lap, then it's an amazing buzz because you know that you've worked so hard for it. The first corner is always interesting with 20 cars slowing from 290kph (180mph) to 80kph (50mph) and fighting for position on a slippery circuit with cold tyres!"

Rubens Barrichello: "Monza is a very special racetrack and it has always been a real honour to race there and an even better feeling to win the Italian Grand Prix. The track holds some of my favourite racing memories from my victories in 2002 and 2004. As the quickest circuit on the calendar with long straights, engine power is very important to maximise your straightline speed, and the car will be set up with the lowest drag and downforce levels possible.

"However you really need to have good stability under braking to able to ride the Monza kerbs effectively without having too much understeer. Good traction is important for exiting the Rettifilo and Roggia chicanes and you can overtake at both of these turns. It's more difficult to slipstream on the straights these days as it is so difficult to follow another car without losing out from the buffeting."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "Monza is the only circuit on the calendar which requires such a low downforce set-up therefore we will use a significant number of unique aerodynamic parts for the RA108. The priority is to minimise drag to achieve the top speeds of 340kph on the long straights and therefore the rear wing and front wing are significantly smaller than usual. We will also run without our usual wings on the nosebox.

"The engine cover, bargeboard and other chassis devices have all been analysed for their aerodynamic efficiency and amended or reduced where required. The lap at Monza has a number of big braking areas so it can be very hard on the brakes. It is also quite bumpy, which combined with the low downforce, means that the suspension settings have to be right without compromising the car's ability to ride the kerbs."