• McLaren news

McLaren won't suffer repeat of tyre woes in 2013 - Button

Jenson Button: "I think we're going to get high degradation, but I think we'll get the tyre working very quickly" © Press Association

Enlarge

Related Links

• In Focus:
• Tyres

• Drivers:
• Jenson Button

• Teams:
• McLaren

Jenson Button is confident Pirelli's 2013 tyres will not cause him the same kind of problems as the 2012 ones did this year.

Button won the first and final races of the season this year, but struggled to keep the tyres in their working range midway through the season. He scored just seven points in the six races between Bahrain and Great Britain as he struggled to find a working setup and his championship chances were derailed as a result.

However, after testing Pirelli's 2013 development tyre during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, Button is confident he won't suffer a repeat next season.

"One thing that's very different with the tyre is how it works with warm-up," he said. "That's something we've struggled with and a lot of the teams have struggled with this year - actually getting the tyre into its working range. I think some teams have been there or above the working range, but it's difficult to stay in the working range."

Talking about the 2013 tyres he said: "This tyre, I think, has got a much wider working range and that's going to make it much easier to get the tyre working from the start of the season. We've had to change our car a lot to get it working on the 2012 tyres when normally you'd be working on development.

"So it has hurt us quite a bit year and I don't think that will be the case next year after doing one run on them. You get a feeling that it's back to the tyres of old and they're also directional, which is difference from the previous Pirelli tyres. It feels like it's working well. I think we're going to get high degradation, but I think we'll get the tyre working very quickly."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.