Button bright despite shunt
Jenson Button will hope for an improvement at Monza in this weekend's Italian Grand Prix after a destructive test at the track last week.
The Englishman wrecked his Honda in a 160mph shunt last Thursday and was lucky to emerge unscathed. He followed up his maiden win in Hungary with fourth place two weeks ago in Turkey and is keen to end the European season on a high.
The 26-year-old said: "I'm really looking forward to the race at Monza. The atmosphere is always great over the race weekend and the circuit has traditionally seen lots of exciting racing, so hopefully it will be another good race for the fans."
He added: "I had a podium finish here in 2004 and it is a track that I always enjoy. We have a relatively good car around here so I think that we should be reasonably competitive in the race."
For Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello, this weekend will be his first at Monza since leaving local heroes Ferrari at the end of last season.
Despite turning out in opposition to the Ferraris, Barrichello is hoping some in the Italian crowd will remember his exploits during five years at Formula One's oldest team.
He said: "Monza has always been a very special event for me and I still have a lot of Italian fans who write to me with their support, so it's a weekend that I always really enjoy.
"I have actually won twice at Monza in 2004 and 2002 which are some of my favourite memories in Formula One."
Another driver expecting to enjoy more than his fair share of support is Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who hopes to reward his fans with a return to the points. The Italian, who was named after Finnish motorcyclist Jarno Saarinen following his death at Monza in 1973, believes Toyota can score for the seventh consecutive race after their difficult start to the year.
He said: "I always enjoy coming to Monza. I'm at home so I enjoy more support than usual and the atmosphere is excellent. I like the circuit too and I have usually had good results there, including last year when I had a good run to fifth place in the Toyota."
