F1: Jenson Button eyes progress ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix

JENSON Button has eyed continued progress ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Button arrives in Sakhir looking for his first points of the season after a poor strategy call left the McLaren driver a disappointing 14th in the Australian Grand Prix.

Despite leaving Melbourne pointless, McLaren demonstrated a clear step forward from their disastrous 2015 campaign and the main issues with their Honda engine from last season - unreliability and an inability to deploy full power for lengthy periods - appear to have been fixed.

Button said: "I'm really keen to get back behind the wheel, as, although it didn't show in our results from Australia, our package felt very good to drive and the team worked really hard to bring a step forward from testing to the first race.

"Bahrain is definitely a tricky track for us as it's high-speed, but we have a solid platform and improved deployment, so there are some positives to look forward to."

Button has fond memories of Bahrain, having won there in his title-winning season of 2009, but he suffered a disastrous time at the Middle Eastern circuit last year as he failed to start the race due to mechanical problems.

It is a dilemma that Button is looking forward to avoiding this weekend.

Button added: "Bahrain is a fun track to drive on and very different from Albert Park in its configuration.

"It's tough on brakes and fuel, and good balance is key to putting together a lap, as you need downforce on the long, fast straights and then stability and traction through the lower-speed corners. It's a more extreme version of Australia in many ways, with the track starting off very dirty and rubbering in over the weekend.

"While that makes the track faster, we also have to juggle the rapidly cooling temperatures on race day after the sun sets."

F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Button: This one is always special...

Despite McLaren-Honda's ongoing woes, Jenson Button has reason to look forward to F1's return to Interlagos.


Jenson Button is looking forward to F1's annual visit to the Autodromo Jose Carlos pace, hoping to more positive news for the McLaren team at a venue that means a lot to him personally. 

Button's season continued in disappointing fashion as F1 returned to Mexico for the first time since 1992, the Briton coming home 14th after a weekend he described as 'painful' following repeated engine problems that scuppered his practice and qualifying sessions. With team-mate Fernando Alonso completing a token lap 'for the fans', there was little to cheer for the Woking team, but Button remains optimistic as he returns to the scene of his greatest triumph – the 2009 world championship title. 

“Interlagos has got to be up there with the all-time great circuits in F1,” the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix winner insisted, “There's so much history there, so many legends have raced on that circuit, and the fans are always so enthusiastic that you can't help but love going back there each year. 

“For me personally, the track is very special. It's a tough circuit on the cars as it's so bumpy, but really fun to drive with its off-camber sections and technical mix of corners. 

“Although we found it tough in Mexico – especially with the altitude – our pace in the corners was positive, so I'm looking forward to seeing how our car performs in those areas in Brazil.” 

The 35-year old, who has already been confirmed as a McLaren-Honda driver for next season, will contest his 283rd grand prix this weekend, but wants little more, initially at least, than the chance to get some meaningful practice laps under his belt. 

“Unlike the last couple of races, I hope we can get some solid dry running done so that we can really focus on set-up and reliability, and get as much time on track as possible from Friday onwards – then we'll see what we can do from there,” he explained, “However, the weather is usually unpredictable, which has made for some chaotic races in the past. It's great for the fans and always produces some really interesting results, so hopefully we can put ourselves in a position to take advantage if anything happens.”

Jenson Button warns against expecting McLaren miracles

Jenson Button says McLaren must keep its expectations realistic at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

McLaren has struggled in recent races, with the high-speed circuits at Spa and Monza emphasising the weaknesses in the Honda power unit. While the team has been targeting Singapore as a circuit which should play in to its hands, Button warns against setting targets which McLaren is unable to achieve.

“There’s always a lot of anticipation in the build-up to this race, and for us it’s no different," Button said. "We’ve had a couple of really challenging races, but we’ve said for a while that some of the circuits we go to towards the end of the season should be a bit better-suited to the stronger elements of our package.

“There’s no denying it’ll be hard work, and we aren’t expecting miracles overnight. But, Singapore is a fantastic circuit, it’s one of the longest races of the season in terms of time, and we quite often we see a Safety Car there.

"So, anything can happen; we’re hoping to learn a lot about how our car works in this configuration, and take as many positives from the weekend as we can.”

While the Honda power unit has been limiting McLaren's competitiveness, a senior team member told F1i in Italy it only believes the team has the "fourth or fifth" best chassis on the grid.

McLaren currently sits ninth in the constructors' championship and its last points came in Hungary, where Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Button came home ninth.