By Phil Huff
September 8 2006

Honda Racing F1's Rubens Barrichello arrives at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, buoyed by the recent test, and looking forward to a special event. "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," explains the Brazilian. "I have actually won twice at Monza in 2004 and 2002 which are some of my favourite memories in Formula One."

"It's a unique circuit and easily the fastest in the F1 calendar in terms of speed," he continues. "You have to get the braking right and obviously the traction and the power of the engine are important too.

"We had a good test this week in preparation for the race, focusing mainly on tyre choice and car set-up for the lower levels of downforce that you need here, so we look forward to another good race next weekend."

The test saw Honda Racing F1 testing the 2007 spec engine, amongst other things. The team are considering using this experimental engine in the race in order to steal a march on their rivals in 2007.