Ross Brawn has rejected suggestions that Honda has abandoned trying to improve the lacklustre 2008 car in order to fully focus on next year.

It has been rumoured that the struggling Brackley based squad is using the opportunity of sweeping technical rule changes for 2009 to get a jump on its rivals.

But to the BBC, team principal Brawn said Honda is still working to improve the RA108.

He does admit, however, that some priorities in the team's design office are now switching to the next car.

"One advantage we have is we're not fighting for a championship, and when you are, you have to put a lot of resources into fighting for that championship," he said.

"So the top two or three teams for sure are going to have to balance their efforts for this year and next year perhaps more than we will."

While admitting that 2008 is more a "consolidation year", Brawn insists that improvements to the current car will be still being made in a few races time.

He admitted: "But it's more about building the team and the structure for the future, creating the systems and the philosophies that we need to succeed in the future."

Source: GMM