Zoom Barrichello could use a good run at Spa Francorchamps

Honda heads to Spa Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the championship. The 44-lap race is one of the oldest on the calendar, having been staged for the first time in the World Championship's inaugural season in 1950, and the track remains one of the fastest and most challenging in the world.

Over the years Spa-Francorchamps has been shortened from its original 14.9km length several times and the current configuration is 7.004km in length. This makes the track the longest on the F1 calendar and it retains much of its original character by following the natural undulations of the Ardennes region of Belgium.

Honda had a poor run last time out in Valencia with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello finishing 13th and 16th respectively, but the team will be looking to its 14 points secured so far this year this coming Sunday.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal - How do you expect the RA108's recent upgrades to perform at the Belgian Grand Prix?
RB: "We made a significant step forward with the RA108 over the summer break, however we were not able to convert that potential into a strong qualifying and race performance in Valencia which was disappointing. Our priority for the Belgian Grand Prix weekend will be to optimise those performance steps and improve our qualifying performance to give Jenson and Rubens the best possible chance of a good race result. Following last week's test in Monza, we will have developments to our braking system which should resolve the issues which Rubens faced in Valencia, in addition to a specific aerodynamic package for the medium downforce levels required at Spa."

What challenges does the Spa-Francorchamps circuit present?
JB: "Spa is one of the great classic racing circuits and certainly one of my favourites. The lap features some of the most interesting, fast and challenging corners on the racing calendar which make it a great favourite for the drivers, and also with the engineers because when you get the car right, you can really pick up a lot of time. To stand at Eau Rouge and watch a car go through that very fast corner, right on the limit, can still make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The weather frequently plays a role at Spa and there is a great opportunity when bad weather strikes to achieve a surprise result. We have seen already this season that our car can perform rather better in the wet than the dry and I for one would certainly not object to an inclement weekend."