A fourth place for Jenson Button in Germany went some way to relieving the pressure at Honda after a disastrous run of late, although the fact that Rubens Barrichello's race ended in another early smoky retirement gave more cause for concern. Incredibly, Button had not been in the points since finishing sixth in Spain, and the only score for the team in the previous four races was a similar result for Barrichello in the high attrition race at Indianapolis.
Considering the pre-season optimism surrounding the team, those results were not much to get excited about, but at least things seem to be going in the right direction. However, Hockenheim has favoured Button in recent years, and it remains to be seen if the boost in form is carried over into future races.
Several weeks have now passed since technical director Geoff Willis went on gardening leave after apparently being targeted as the scapegoat for the team's problems when Tokyo demanded answers. Interestingly, sources around the team say that now the dust has settled, the atmosphere in the technical department is good.