• Belgian Grand Prix

Button optimistic for Spa

Jenson Button approaches the Belgian Grand Prix in high spirits © Getty Images

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• Race:
• Belgian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Jenson Button

• Teams:
• McLaren

Jenson Button is hopeful that the forthcoming circuits of Spa Francorchamps and Monza will play to the strengths of his McLaren team although he does not see the next two races as critical to the overall title fight.

"While we're optimistic that the bodywork rules clarification will close the gap among the top teams, and that both Spa and Monza should suit our package better than the Hungaroring, it's still important that we regain the momentum we'd reached earlier this season," said Button on Friday. "While I don't think these two European races will be pivotal to the title fight, it will nonetheless be harder to introduce bigger upgrades to the car at the end-of-season flyaways, so it's important for the whole team that we score well in both events."

McLaren has seen rivals Red Bull in dominant form on the medium to high downforce circuits with its blown diffuser and flexible front wing. But team boss Martin Whitmarsh is confident his team can bridge the gap over the forthcoming races.

"After a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix, we are pushing hard to regain the performance relative to our rivals that we had enjoyed earlier this season," said Whitmarsh. "While we believe our recent upgrades have given us a downforce improvement, it appears that the package hasn't yet delivered to its full potential, particularly in terms of providing the drivers with a consistent, confidence-delivering platform.

"We were able to carry out some useful evaluative tests during practice in Hungary, which provided us with some useful data and avenues for experimentation. And we'll take that programme further in Spa, running floor rakes during practice to supply us with more information.

"As we've always stated, we believe there are some large areas of performance locked within the car and its recent upgrade, and we are confident that our solid-engineering approach will enable us to fully unlock them sooner rather than later."

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