Mixed fortunes for Honda drivers

The duo ended the afternoon just two tenths of a second apart in 13th and 14th positions.

Barrichello felt his time was not representative of his true potential as he had encountered traffic.

"We have had two good practice sessions today despite changing track conditions and we were able to work on improving the car in the wet and dry," said the Brazilian.

"On my last run this afternoon, I got caught in traffic which was unfortunate as I felt that I could have achieved a little more from the car. Overall we have made a positive start which gives me reason to be optimistic for the rest of the weekend."

But Button was disappointed with his car's performance and believes he needs to improve his set-up before qualifying.

"I struggled with a lack of grip in the second session and the tyres were also graining, so we still have some work to do to find the optimum dry set-up and improve the balance of the car," he said.

"We were able to achieve a good number of laps though so we have plenty of data to work with."