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Jenson's button concerns

Jenson is not the only button in his new McLaren MP4-26 © Sutton Images

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Jenson Button admitted that the extra number of buttons on his steering wheel for the 2011 season could lead to confusion in the cockpit but that he thinks he will be at ease with the car by the time the season starts.

Both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Rosberg voiced concerns at Valencia this week that the number of new buttons could distract drivers from the crucial aspect of driving the car. The new regulations in place for the 2011 season, including the adjustable rear wing and return of KERS means that the drivers have yet more buttons to play with on an already cluttered steering wheel.

"I've driven the simulator quite a lot in the winter using the KERS and also the rear wing buttons," said Button at the reveal of the new McLaren MP4-26. "It takes a bit of time to get used to so I think it can be a little bit confusing. But we have the simulator so we can get used to it before we get on the circuit and hopefully we will be able to try it out in Jerez. Yes it's busy in the cockpit anyway just driving the car and adjusting all the different switches was already a concern because it was quite busy.

"We've added two more switches which are very important for lap time and also the feeling of the car so it's busy but by the time we get to the first race we're all going to be used to it and it will be fine and hopefully we'll be the team that has done our homework on it and we can arrive ready to perform and be more confident with the buttons and switches that we have."

Button added that he does not yet know whether overtaking will be easier when the low downforce setting for the rear wing is adjusted from within the cockpit.

"We need to see what the case is with the rear wing, we won't know until we get to races. It can only be activated when you're within one second, and it's very difficult to get into one second in the first place because of the way the downforce works.

"There is less downforce this year, so maybe we can run closer and maybe it will be easier to overtake. I don't know yet. The thing for me is that in 2010 there was quite a lot of overtaking, and when those moves did happen, when you make a move that comes off it's such a buzz - it really is - because it's not easy.

"I don't know what it will be like with the moveable wing, if you get the same sensation or not, I don't know yet."

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