Speaking in a conference call this afternoon, Ross Brawn, who takes over as Team Principal at Honda later this month, said that he fully recognises the challenge he faces.

"It may be that we will get lucky and things will turn around very quickly, it may take a bit longer," he admitted. "But I think the resources here will match anything I was used to in the past."

The Englishman took time to pay tribute to his former employer, Ferrari, which has won both 2007 titles. However, he made it clear that as the F1 benchmark, the Italian team is now in his sights. "They've done well and will do well and have got a good structure there to go forward with," he said. "My job now is to beat them."

Referring to the fact that he chose the new challenge of Honda - and following its worst ever season in F1, the team certainly does pose a serious challenge - over a return to Ferrari, with which he enjoyed unparalleled success, the Englishman said: "The fact that Ferrari wasn't in crisis made it less attractive to me.

"I just wasn't getting a feeling that there was a strong enough challenge for me at Ferrari," he added.

"I miss the racing a lot," he admitted, having taken a sabbatical for the last year. "I miss the sport, I miss the teamwork, I miss being a part of a group of people who achieve something that is very difficult but when achieved is very rewarding. I had a wonderful year but you can only indulge yourself for so long. The 12 months away helped me focus a bit on what I enjoyed about racing, what aspects I enjoy."

"And there are some personal considerations," he admitted, "having been based in the UK for a year and got to know my family again, it would have taken quite a special set of circumstances to go back to Ferrari."