Feb.4 (GMM) Leading figures of the formula one team Honda admit that their challenger for the 2008 season, the newly launched RA108, is not performing strongly in its initial testing phase.

The white and green single seater, albeit reliable, spent the entire weekend at Circuit de Catalunya among the slowest test runners.

"The car is completely new which means we are starting from zero in terms of developing the setup," British driver Jenson Button said in a statement provided by he Japanese team.

"We are also experiencing some drivability issues as we work with the new ECU," he added.

The Brackley based squad's test boss Steve Clark said he is hopeful that the performance of the car will improve in the weeks before Melbourne, the opening race of 2008.

"The RA108 is so different aerodynamically to its predecessor that it is going to take some time over the next few tests to optimise the chassis settings," he said.

Clark acknowledged Honda's unimpressive showing on the Barcelona time sheets, "especially on single fast laps, although our long run consistency is a little better", he added.

F1's next three-day group test will be held at Jerez from 12 February.