Jenson Button feels the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit is a ‘great test of nerve’, and will be looking to maximise his weekend at the fastest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar despite knowing it will be a challenging weekend in Italy.
The McLaren-Honda driver has secured only two top-ten finishes in 2015, and feels he will struggle to make that three this weekend, but feels the low-downforce set-up that Monza requires makes the chicanes a massive challenge.
“Monza is such a great place, definitely one of the most incredible races on the calendar for a driver, and always such a thrill to race on,” said Button.
“It’s completely unique in terms of the set-up it demands, and I love the feeling you get when you hit the sweet spot in the corners, keeping the car controlled under heavy braking on the way in is tricky, and then on the way out it becomes very unsettled as you’re trying to get the power down; it’s a great test of nerve.”
Button struggled with a ERS deployment issue during the race in Belgium, but is optimistic that the same problem will not occur this weekend at Monza, although he expects a challenging weekend.
“Spa was a very tough race for the team, and especially so on my side of the garage due to the deployment issues I had on the straights,” said Button.
“We’re working hard on this and we’re optimistic that there won’t be a repeat in Monza, as it really hindered any chance I had of keeping up with the rest of the pack.
“That said, Monza’s high speeds will prove very challenging for us, but we’ll give it our all and stay focussed as ever.”
Button believes a good Saturday will go a long way to a better Sunday at Monza, and felt despite his issues at Spa-Francorchamps that the MP4/30 was nice to drive, and feels some of the circuits post-Italy might suit the McLaren team much better.
“The key for us will be getting the maximum from the car on Saturday, to give ourselves a fighting chance of a good battle on Sunday afternoon,” reflected Button.
“Despite the issues, the car was well balanced in Spa and felt good to drive, particularly in qualifying, so we’ll aim to make the most of that in Monza, too, before we head to the fly-aways where there’ll be circuits that’ll suit our car’s strengths much better.”
