- Singapore GP - FP2
Button quietly confident for Saturday gains
Jenson Button is optimistic McLaren can build on its Friday performance in Singapore as he thinks there is plenty of improvement to be gained before qualifying.
Button finished 7th and 8th in the two Friday practice sessions, finishing FP2 just a couple of tenths up on Force India's Sergio Perez - the team McLaren lead by just one point in the constructors' championship. Despite being off the pace of the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari, Button thinks the work done on Friday will pay dividends for qualifying.
When asked if he was satisfied by McLaren's performance on Friday, Button said: "Not yet, but considering that it's not too bad. There's a lot of work to do overnight. We did a lot of aero work, a lot of set-up work. At least we know what sort of direction to go with. We know what we need to do for tomorrow, and considering that it's not too bad compared to people around us. Hopefully we will improve a lot tomorrow."
There was a surprising 2.5s gap between the soft (prime) tyre and the super-soft (option) in Singapore, and Button thinks McLaren can be buoyed by its own runs on the softer rubber.
"It's about a second-and-a-half quicker than we expected. [The gap is] massive, and I can't see it changing. We are normally the opposite - we usually don't make a big difference up because we're very good on the prime tyre. So it's a big difference for us here because qualifying is very important around here.
"It's always tricky when it's such a big difference. It just means everyone will be running super-soft in Q1. Considering we are nowhere near where we want to be we're not too bad on the option tyre, which is promising."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
