By Phil Huff
February 21 2007

Honda Racing F1's testing pace is misleading, so says Jacky Eeckelaert, and the team are faster than double world champions Renault. Thus far, Honda have ended every test session towards the lower half of the time sheets, ending the most recent Barcelona test 1.488s behind pace setter Felipe Massa. However, conditions are masking the true performance of the RA107, says Eeckelaert.

"The testing times are a little misleading," explained Honda Racing F1's Engineering Director to Autosport. "Looking at the long runs of some of our rivals, sometimes they are a second faster than us and sometimes a second slower. The weather means we've not put in any strong single-lap runs, but we're confident in what we're doing.

"We're not as quick as McLaren, Ferrari or BMW, but we think we're ahead of Renault."

The matter hasn't been helped by the fact that the team are yet to run an aerodynamic package intended for 2007, instead relying on a modified 2006 set up.

The team test this week in Bahrain, starting on Thursday and ending Saturday, before a livery launch is held at the Natural History Museum in London on Monday. The final test before racing begins then follows on Wednesday 28 February, running for three days.