“The best Friday in a long time” for Jenson Button and McLaren!
A satisfactory third place in FP2 and promises: Jenson Button was the main attraction this Friday night in the Sakhir paddock! Reaching Q3 is a feasible goal for the Qualifications. Also, a review of Stoffel Vandoorne's first day as a Grand Prix driver.
Jenson Button’s position did not go unnoticed this afternoon in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Third on super-soft tires at the end of the second free practice session, the McLaren team driver seems to be breaking the negative spiral from Melbourne, notably marked by Alonso’s terrible accident. This performance is noteworthy as it places the English veteran behind the two Mercedes as the first pursuer, while Scuderia Ferrari stumbled with Vettel.
« It’s really a nice feeling to have driven such a car today! I must say it was a good day for us, it was even the best in quite a few years! » he declared, all smiles, to the journalists.
Initially out on medium tires, Button then completed three stints on super-soft tires before switching back to mediums in the final moments of the session. Clear-headed from his 285 Grand Prix, Button does not expect to be as well-placed tomorrow for the Qualifying: “I still think we will have other cars ahead of us tomorrow.”
Reaching Q3 seems a more reasonable objective in this respect: “Our third place in FP2 is not only due to the changing conditions or any other reason. However, we must aim for Q3, that is our goal.”
In any case, Button seems to have a solid foundation to work from: “The car’s behavior wasn’t too bad, the car’s balance is interesting, it handles well on all parts of the circuit. It seems to be going much better than in Melbourne, especially on long stints. Even so, we have work to do, especially on the hardest tires.”
For his part, Vandoorne also attracted media attention during this day. Freshly arrived from Japan and the Super Formula, the Belgian driver plunged into the boiling waters of Formula 1, just a few hours before his birthday.
« I’m going to do the best job possible for the team. I’m celebrating my 24th birthday this Saturday, so this opportunity to drive this weekend is a very nice gift for me! »
After a timid eighteenth place, the reigning GP2 champion naturally gained momentum in the afternoon, following Jenson Button’s performance. He finished in eleventh position in the second session, reducing the gap by two-tenths that separated him from his teammate at the start of the day. Consequently, only seven-tenths of a gap remain at the end of this track day: « I hadn’t driven the car before, but I quickly felt comfortable in the car, making some progress between FP1 and FP2. Of course, we still have a lot to sort out, but everything is going well so far. »
The happiness of some making the unhappiness of others, Vandoorne was conciliatory towards Fernando Alonso, who will accompany him this weekend from the garage: *Fernando has been by my side all day, giving me a lot of advice. It’s not really the ideal situation to start like this but I think this progress will continue for tomorrow. I particularly appreciate the Sakhir track and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend!*
Let us also recall that Vandoorne has already won twice on this circuit in GP2, each time during the sprint race.
In any case, we will closely monitor the progress of Jenson Button and Stoffel Vandoorne throughout this second weekend. The big question now is: will both cars manage to make it into Q3?
