• Chinese Grand Prix - FP2

McLaren within striking distance of Red Bull - Button

ESPNF1 Staff
April 15, 2011 « McLaren still short of full potential - Hamilton | »
Jenson Button preferred the balance of his car on hard tyres © Getty Images
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Jenson Button is hoping a few set-up tweaks will give him the opportunity to challenge Red Bull at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

He set the third fastest time in practice, 0.247 seconds off Sebastian Vettel's headline pace, but said there was still time to be found in the set-up of the car.

"This morning was reasonably good and the car was working well - it's a good car to drive," he said. "For the afternoon, we tried a few things and didn't really improve the balance of the car, so we're going to look at why the changes didn't really give us the improvement we expected."

He said the car felt strong over longer runs on the harder tyres but he had yet to perfect the car's balance on the soft tyres, which will be crucial for qualifying.

"The car felt reasonably strong on the prime tyre but less so on the option," he added. "So it's not been a perfect afternoon but we have a lot of information on the changes we made, so we can hopefully work on improving the set-up tomorrow.

"It's not as hot as it was in Malaysia, so I don't think the tyres will be as much of an issue to look after as they were in Malaysia. If we sort out the balance tomorrow, we'll be closer to Red Bull."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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