Honda: We have 'special' V8 for Suzuka.

Honda senior technical director, Shuhei Nakamoto has confirmed that they will introduce a 'Suzuka special engine' this coming weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, as they look to secure home glory.

Although a win is unlikely for the Brackley-based outfit, Honda have had a good run of late, which was backed up with another double points finish in Shanghai last Sunday, when Jenson Button finished fourth and Rubens Barrichello was sixth. As such the team are extremely optimistic they can again finish in the top eight and notch up more points.

"The Honda Racing F1 Team heads home to Japan in good heart. This will be our team's second home race of the season and the support of the Japanese fans makes it a place we always look forward to visiting. It would be great to win at Suzuka and sing the national anthem with the fans in the grandstand! We will be introducing our upgraded Suzuka special engine, which will be the culmination of all our development work on the V8 unit," confirmed Nakamoto.

"At our last test in Jerez, we also introduced a new aero package and further mechanical developments too, which will be the baseline for the chassis set-up work at Suzuka."

Honda's sporting director, Gil de Ferran is also optimistic they can do well: "We are delighted to return to Japan and race in front of our home crowd and the many fans and friends of Honda. Suzuka itself is one of the classic racing circuits in the world and a great driver's track. The layout has a little bit of everything and some relatively short straights, which makes overtaking a challenge and places a premium on car handling. Fortunately, this is one of our fortes, particularly during the latter part of this season," he added.

"Both of our drivers enjoy the track and have gone very well in the past, Rubens having won there and Jenson having scored points in every single visit he has made. Last year, the venue gave us one of the most exciting races in recent Formula 1 history. Hopefully this year will be no different and our team will be in the thick of the fight."