Jenson Button got his first taste of the new McLaren yesterday and the world champ did not seem to enjoy the flavour.
This time last year he described his Brawn car as a “monster” - this car, in comparison, he may be tempted to call a mouse. Teammate Lewis Hamilton did well in qualifying the day before, coming in third fastest. In comparison Button was slow all day, finishing fifth fastest overall and a full 0.305seconds slower than Hamilton.
This may have something to do with Hamilton having a lot of input into the car. He has been working on it since they gave up on last season’s turkey and he said earlier this week: "Right now, I'm probably the most excited I've ever been to get back in the car after this break, just because I've been in touch with the team so much more and I've had so much input into it.” Button, on the other hand, arrived a bit late on from Brawn, and would have had virtually no input into proceedings, making it more of a Hamilton-friendly drive.
A world champion should still be able to do the business though, even against the odds and he was miles behind Fernando Alonso, a massive 1.5seconds slower. Ferrari have looked superb in pre-season so far and have blown the opposition away.
Button described yesterday as a “tough day” and he will be slightly concerned about the future. Having only won one grand prix prior to last season, the Somerset-born racer will not want to fall back into obscurity.
He said: "It would have been nice to get more testing done. I've been doing a lot of work making sure I'm comfortable in the car. I wasn't quite where I wanted to be. I was quite high in the car and uncomfortable.
"I had to change a lot within the car. I fit well now and feel comfortable with my head in the car now."
"This is not the best circuit to get a feeling of how the car's going to be during the season - it's very different to any other circuit to race on, the balance is very different.
"We can say that Ferrari are fast but we don't know how fast. You can't do those times if you're not competitive.”
A level-headed approach from Button, and it has to be appreciated that these are still very early days and things will still need to be adapted and changed in order to get the right mix. There’s no way you can tell from one day how you will do over the course of a whole season, but compared to last year when he set a high standard from the start Button has to be a little bit disappointed.
This year, Formula One is going to be starting the season with four world champions on the grid, Button, Hamilton and Alonso will be joined by the ever dangerous Michael Schumacher. The cars all seem faster, and up-and-coming prospects like Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica are a threat as well. If Button doesn’t find form from the off then it’s going to be a long season for him.
All Button can do now is try not to get stuck. He needs to keep things together and hopefully he will turn it on as the pre-season progresses.
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