Jenson Button is hoping for rain during Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix as he bids for a top ten finish around the historic street circuit.
The McLaren-Honda driver struggled for balance during the second phase of qualifying in particular, and will start down in thirteenth position on the grid, with the Briton having grip issues during his last lap in Q2 that prevented him following team-mate Fernando Alonso into Q3.
Despite this, Button knows that anything can happen at Monaco, although he does expect limited overtaking opportunities on a track notoriously difficult to overtake.
“My lap in Q1 felt okay, then the balance went away from me as the circuit gripped up,” said Button. “On my final run in Q2 I had front-locking into Turn Three, locked the front-left and overheated the tyre, which meant I lost front-end grip after that.
“Still, this is Monaco, and anything can happen. The first corner is usually eventful; then, after that, it’s about sitting behind the guy in front. You can try and dive down the inside of another car into Turn 10 [the Harbour Chicane], but that’s a no-go for us because we’re too far back by the time we get to that part of the track.
“So, as I say, I’ll be hoping for rain tomorrow.”
