- US GP - FP2
Button: McLaren won't be as quick as Sochi
Jenson Button does not expect McLaren to be as competitive at the United States Grand Prix as it was in Sochi despite encouraging pace during Friday practice.
Button finished fourth at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, a weekend which saw McLaren matching the pace of Mercedes and Williams at certain stages. On Friday in Austin Button - who will serve a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change - was the best of the rest behind Mercedes in FP1 but McLaren struggled on its qualifying simulation runs in the afternoon, with the 2009 champion finishing tenth behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
When asked the reason behind McLaren's upturn in form since Japan, where he finished fifth, Button said: "There's some new parts on the car but in terms of set-up I think we've found a better direction which is good. I'm very happy about that, it was in Japan we found a better direction with the car and we followed it through to Sochi and also here. I don't think we'll be as competitive here as in Sochi, I don't think P4 is on the cards, but I think a good points haul is, though that's more difficult for me with a five-place grid penalty.
"We're always quite quick in FP1. I don't know why that is but hopefully we can get back to where we were there. I think that's going to be tricky, but I don't know who we're fighting right now - we won't know until qualifying and obviously the race. But whatever happens, it's going to be a difficult weekend for me starting five places back; it's not an easy place to overtake."
Despite struggling on the soft tyre in the afternoon session, Button is confident McLaren can rectify those issues to maximise its potential in qualifying.
"They're not issues that can't be solved. You come out of the box and you've got one lap to set a time. Some cars it works for straight away, it suits their balance, and others it doesn't - it doesn't suit ours at the moment. We can work around that and we'll get it working."
Button tested 2015 parts for McLaren on Friday but, despite his place at the team still unconfirmed for next year, he is refusing to read into what that meant.
"I don't really care, I'm just going out there racing and enjoying myself. I don't think 'is it good, is it bad, is it whatever', I was just enjoying what I do best and that's driving an F1 car."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
