Jenson Button believes the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps will give his McLaren-Honda team a big test to see how far they have come with the development of their MP4/30 this season.
The Briton and team-mate Fernando Alonso have had difficult seasons so far in 2015, with both drivers only having scored points on two occasions, and the 2009 World Champion knows McLaren have a long way to go to be truly competitive.
Honda are using some of its remaining quota of engine tokens ahead of the race in Belgium, which Button hopes enables them to be closer to the outright pace.
“There is still a long way to go with the car, and every area we need to work on,“ said Button. “If you look at Red Bull, it was very strong [in Hungary] and was not at the previous races.
“So either they made a good step forward or it showed the power is less important [at the Hungaroring] than other circuits.
“I think Spa is a very good test for us. It is a very good test for many other teams, to compare themselves with the lead cars. It is a fast circuit but it is also a circuit you need good aerodynamics for the high-speed corners.
“It is a great circuit to compare yourself and we will have a good step forward on the power unit which is great. And in terms of the car we will see how it works.”
