A downbeat Rubens Barrichello has targeted a mere top-twelve qualifying effort in Bahrain.
The Brazilian driver broke ranks with his Honda colleagues on Thursday by reporting that the struggling RA107 racer “has not improved” since it debuted disappointingly in Melbourne last month.
Barrichello, 34, thus set a modest target for round three at Sakhir: “If I am able to push the car to the limit in qualifying then a grid position in the top twelve should be possible.”
Meanwhile, even despite speculation of a completely re-vamped car for the Canadian grand prix in June, teammate Jenson Button warned that there will be “no easy fix” to the Japanese squad’s problems.
“It is going to take a little bit of time. It is not going to be the next race, it will be four to five races down the line,” the Briton said.
Button added: “We’ve known for three months that the car is not quick, but there’s no easy fix.”