Jenson Button has admitted that he is lacking confidence in his McLaren MP4-31 to fully commit in to corners and could only manage twelfth place while team-mate Fernando Alonso made it in to Q3.
“This result has been a long time coming for the McLaren-Honda team. Fair play to Fernando – he’s been very quick all weekend, and this afternoon’s Q3 success is great for the team.” said Button.
While it is a great result for the team, the Englishman is realistic about expectations from the team, “Having said that, merely getting into Q3 isn’t where we want to be as a team, but we did a good job today. And I hope it’s put a smile on everyone’s faces.
It hasn’t been all smiles in the team though, Button has struggled with rear-end grip throughout the weekend, “My car has been suffering from a loose-feeling rear end, which isn’t how I like it to feel because it means I can’t fully commit into corners. I tried my best, but driving around that handling characteristic has never been my strong point.
“I’ll start tomorrow’s race on new tyres too, so I’m not too upset.” he added.
McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier is confident that the team can manage a solid points haul this weekend though and believes that both drivers will be in the top 10.
“Although Jenson narrowly failed to get through to Q3, he too is very well positioned to launch an aggressive yet canny offensive towards a points-scoring position tomorrow afternoon.” said Boullier.
“We got both cars into the points in Sochi two weeks ago, and a repeat performance has to be our goal here in Barcelona tomorrow.”
