Look at where Honda were in 2008, where Brawn were in 2009, and then try telling us that teams can't improve. The real problem is the difficulty in finding speed during the season relative to everyone else. Brawn not spending any money on the car in 2009 has masked this issue, but I'm sure it'll come to the fore after this year's 19 stage coronation.
Honda pumped hundreds of millions into the development of that car and there was a major overhaul of the technical regulations. Edit: When I say "development" I mean before the start of the season, not during.
