Jenson Button has high expectations for McLaren in Austin
McLaren F1 driver Jenson Button has high expectations for the team this weekend in Austin, despite a disappointing race for the team two weeks ago in Japan.
Back at Suzuka, Button placed 18th, two spots behind his teammate Fernando Alonso in 16th. However, as Button explained Thursday, with the high-speed, flowing turns in the first sector at Suzuka, it was to be expected.
“That’s the worst section for us, sort of mid-speed corner with no braking at all,” said Button. When it comes to heavy braking circuits, however, Button says McLaren is one of the best.
“Heavy braking circuits, our car’s fantastic. It’s probably the best at braking, and when you have a heavy-braking corner and you make the turn-in, it’s very strong.
“So here, you obviously have Turn 1 to Turn 8 are very flowing but it’s very different to Suzuka. You’re loaded but not as much, in Suzuka you’re in the corner for a long time… so this should be a much stronger circuit for us.
“Suzuka was still a surprise how under-performing we were, but still we know the reasons for it which is the most important thing for these guys next year.”
Button adds that McLaren has proven itself to be the fourth-best team at several races this season, and that they will begin targeting Ferrari’s status of the third-best team on the grid before the end of the year.
“Our aim was always to be the fourth-best team at the end of the year,” explains Button. “Quite a few races this year we have been the fourth-best team. We’re not going to finish fourth in the championship because we’ve improved a lot this year and we weren’t competitive at the start of the year, but finishing seventh, eighth in a grand prix means you were, so we were in that position.
“Coming here you definitely think we should be the fourth-best team, we’ll be fighting Force India for that position. I think we’re pretty much on target and what we say is correct. We would like to be closer to Ferrari going into the end of the season and be able to be challenging Ferrari. I think that is a long shot but you’ve got to have targets, and I think that has to be our aim.”
The McLaren F1 team sits sixth in the constructor standings heading into the United States Grand Prix. Button scored a season-best finish of sixth here in 2015, although attrition played a factor during the race.
