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• Jenson Button

Jenson Button heads into the new Formula One season looking to re-establish career momentum after a disastrous 2007 campaign for both him and the Honda team.

Coping as best he could with the team's recalcitrant RA107 chassis, the Englishman - who had established championship-winning consistency during the final races of 2006 - often laboured outside the top 10.

Button's haul of six points was more a result of his own skills in wet conditions than any real performance coming from a car which the driver himself subsequently labelled "a dog".

The emergence of one Lewis Hamilton as Britain's new F1 darling must also have been hard to take.

Nevertheless, Button stoicism in the face of such adversity was there for all to see and, with former Benetton and Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn now at the Honda helm, things are looking up for 2008 and beyond.

Speaking at the recent launch of Honda's RA108 car, Button discussed, among other things, the arrival of Brawn, the emergence of Hamilton, and his hopes for the coming season...

How happy are you with the way things are going?

I'm very happy. It's always exciting - the new season - but especially with the package we have and also the team that we have. It's a complete team now. I think that maybe we've been lacking in certain areas and we proved that last year. We had some very good people working in this team last year and obviously that's why they're still here in 2008. But we had some areas that maybe needed a bit of work - the personnel changes we've made have been very positive, so coming into 2008 and looking to the future I'm very positive.

What does Ross Brawn bring to this team?

He brings a lot to this team. He brings a lot of experience within F1 and also challenging for and winning world championships with two different teams. His technical direction is what we have needed at Honda - and something we've been lacking. I think we have some good ideas, but when we put them on the table, we really don't know which one to go for. He's the man to say 'This is what we want to work. This is the direction we want to go in'. So that's going to make a big difference to this team.

Also, people really listen to Ross; when he speaks people listen - as you should. I mean, the guy has so much experience. He's very level-headed, very calm. He knows that this team can challenge for the world championship. He wouldn't be here otherwise, which, again, lifts everyone's confidence. Everyone realises how serious Honda are now...you don't employ someone like Ross unless you're serious. His input to the car obviously is going to take time, but his input to the personnel has already started happening and the areas he thinks aren't quite strong enough with the team are building.

You and your team-mate had a bad season in 2007. You're a hungry guy and so is (team-mate) Rubens (Barrichello). Rubens has everything to prove. How are you going to get along this season?

Well, we've both been around for quite a while in F1 - Rubens a lot more than me, obviously. But he's a good guy. When it gets to the point where we're both challenging for good results in the future, it comes down to us on the circuit. And, as team-mates, you work together off the circuit to move the team forward, but on the circuit, obviously, things changes and you're racing each other. Which is great and it's great to have a competitive team-mate. If I had a team-mate I could walk all over, I don't think this team will move forward as much as it will do.

It's good having a competitive team-mate and Rubens for me is a great guy because he's not only quick but he also works hard. He gives a lot of feedback and he really believes in this team - which is exactly what I feel. The way that we work together is very good. We've obviously suffered in the last year but we've stayed strong, especially last season - it's been so difficult for us.

There are regulation changes this season, banning driver aids such as traction control. How do you think it's going to change F1?

For me it doesn't really make a big, big difference - I've always been very gradual with the throttle pedal. The only thing that it does mean is that we have to work very, very hard on engine driveability - the engine torque curve. There's so many little things you don't realise are going to be an issue until you drive without traction control. These engines were built to have traction control. So there's a lot of work to be done, we've done a lot on the driveability of the engine but there's still a lot to do to be 100% happy. You'd think it would all be down to the driver now but it's not, it's not all about our right foot. It's about working hard with the engine people and improving the engine and making it more driveable.

I think in the race conditions it's going to be good fun. When we're challenging for positions, you really do get that urge to plant the throttle as quickly as you can and with the way these engines work, with the power delivery, it's either all or nothing. So it's going to be fun, you're going to see some sideways action - especially when the fuel level comes down and you're coming in for new tyres and pushing really hard. The car is easy to drive on low fuel, more nimble, so you're going to be pushing hard with older tyres and you're going to have a lot of sideways action. So it's going to add a bit to the sport I think. It's going to be a lot of fun to drive and fun to watch also.

Will the TC ban alter the tyre situation?

We haven't seen a big issue with tyre wear or tyre overheating. For sure, it does change the temperatures at the rear and changes the average compared to the front. But we haven't seen any big issues and that was with a car that was quite bad last year. The RA107 was not an easy car on tyres and we didn't see any big problems.

The quicker cars are going to be better on tyres, because they've got the downforce and they can slide the tyres so much. So we've just got to hope that we can look after the tyres also. There's nothing changing with the tyres as far as I know compared to last year.

Click here for part two of the Jenson Button Q&A