Button ’not excited’ about Honda progress
Both the 27-year-old Englishman and his teammate Rubens Barrichello finished the 2007 season opener a lap down, despite chiefs for the Japanese squad setting a pre-season target of wins and a tilt at the world title.
Team principal Nick Fry optimistically proclaimed after Melbourne that the RA107 can be "up there with Renault and BMW" in less than one month.
Button, however, told reporters at the Sepang test this week that the Brackley-based team had made a step forward, but in the newspaper Daily Mirror he warned: "It is a small improvement.
"We are not getting excited about it.
Honda's 2007 car has been fitted with new bodywork parts for Malaysia, and senior technical director Shuhei Nakamoto said he hoped it would improve the braking stability problem.
He said: "We are confident that the RA107 is fundamentally a good car.
"We will use the next few races to improve to a more competitive level."