- Jerez Test - Day Two
Button not put off by McLaren-Honda's slow start
Jenson Button said there is no reason for him to be worried about McLaren's position after the first two days of testing, despite the new MP4-30 managing just 12 laps so far.
Button spent most of his first day with the new car in the garage as McLaren chased small ancillary issue relating to the Honda power unit's installation. Although he said there was no way of predicting how competitive the car would be when it is up and running, Button is not yet worrying about the issues.
"There's no reason for my spirits not to be high," he said. "I'm with a great team, a great partnership, and there's a lot to look forward to. But I'm not going to give you figures or positions where we think we will finish at certain races, or the championship because I don't know. None of us know.
"The whole team have done a great job to get the car here for the first test, and if you look at the car itself, in lots of areas it is a step forward from last year's car. The car looks good in many ways in terms of packaging, the engine, it's great, fantastic. So we've got a lot of things right at the start of the year, and now it's just about putting mileage on it."
Button said Red Bull suffered similar problems last year during testing and then went on to finish in the top three (before being disqualified for a fuel flow irregularity).
"You look at where Red Bull were at the first couple of tests, and even the last test, and then move on to Australia, and although they got the result taken away from them, they were second at the first grand prix, so a lot can happen. We always knew the first test would be difficult. It's not about sticking an engine in the car and powering around, it's a very complex system.
"We've had a few niggly things we've been able to solve, and tomorrow we will see where we stand. Obviously we want to put in as many laps as we can and learn as much as possible, putting mileage on the parts and getting experience for us all with the new power unit. Hopefully we'll then get to the first race and be competitive."
Button believes McLaren will complete more mileage on the remaining two days of the test in Jerez.
"It's nice to be a part of the new era of McLaren-Honda which has a very exciting future, but as we all know things take a little bit of time. The atmosphere within the team is very good, and when I say team, I mean McLaren-Honda, which is key for everyone to remember. It's not McLaren with an engine manufacturer, it's one team with one goal.
"It's not the easiest start to the season, but as we know it's a very complicated power unit. We will get our heads around it. In terms of the problems we had today we have our head around it and understand the issue, so we're hoping for a much more productive day three and day four."
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