For Honda, the Brazilian Grand Prix will be the last chapter in a painful year and a chance to finally look towards the future, according to team principal Ross Brawn.
He made the remarks in a preview video issued by Honda on the eve of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
He said: “There will be an end of season feel to it, undoubtedly, and this has not been a great season by any measure for the Honda team.
“For us Brazil will be closing the book on this year. We have been focusing on next year a long time, so in a way I’ll be glad to get Brazil behind us, because of the longer-term plans of the team.”
Honda is pinning its hopes on changes in next year’s technical regulations which it is hoping will deliver a significant performance boost.
It has also, as Brawn points out in the video, long since switched its focus away from keeping the RA108 competitive and towards the 2009 car.
Driver line-up is also unresolved with neither Jenson Button nor Rubens Barrichello definitively signed for next year. Of the two, Button’s seat seems the safer, and he has said he is relaxed about his future.
By contrast, in today’s pre-Interlagos press conference Rubens Barrichello described his F1 career as ‘on hold’ and said that Honda wanted to try out some other drivers at an upcoming test in Barcelona.
It is also no secret that the team has issued an open invitation to Fernando Alonso but, at present, the Spanish double world champion appears more inclined to remain at Renault.