Jenson Button admitted memories of his 2009 World Championship triumph after wearing the helmet design he used during his Brawn Grand Prix days during free practice at the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday.
The McLaren-Honda Formula 1 Team driver is stepping away from racing at the end of 2016 as he goes on a sabbatical from Formula 1, but had a difficult day in Abu Dhabi on Friday as an engine change affected both sessions, leaving him twentieth in FP1 and twelfth in FP2.
Button expects the pace during Sunday’s Grand Prix will be stronger than it has been in recent races, and is looking to end his Formula 1 career with a top ten finish.
“Wearing my old 2009 helmet design today was great – the colours are fantastic, but the memories are even better,” said Button.
“It wasn’t a great day for us – we had to stop running fairly early in FP1, then elected to change the power unit before FP2. Then I got out half an hour into the session. It might’ve been a bit of a troublesome day, but I still think we learned something useful by the end of the day’s running.
“It’s fun to drive around here, and I think our race pace will be stronger than it has been for the past few races, we’ve just got to pull it all together by qualifying strongly.
“Whatever weekend we have, I want to make it as good as I can – and not just because it’s my last race. Hopefully we’ll be stronger tomorrow.”
