Honda to use 'special engine' in Japan

[Wizzo]

Honda will aim for the podium by using a "special engine" at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday as a tribute to their home track which will be dropped from the Formula One calendar next year.

"I'll be looking for a very special result," said Button, the Suzuka exclusion from the F1 circuit was a "massive disappointment for myself and obviously it is for the whole team."

"So we are looking for a good result and it'll be great if we finish on the podium," said Button, who lifted his first career GP in Hungary last August and the first in 39 years for Honda as a full constructor.

Barrichello said the engine "is very powerful and it has been very reliable in testing."

Honda technical director Shuhei Nakamoto said the upgraded "Suzuka special" engine had been tested for a few months as a "culmination of all our development work on the V8 unit."

"The engine in testing is definitely an improvement on what we have already. That's gonna help us this weekend," said Button. "If it is dry, it is going to be a real fight going to the podium," he said of Sunday's race. "And, if it is wet, we have a car that is competitive in the wet conditions. And it is going to very, very exciting if it is wet."