Friday: McLaren fast over one lap, Button fears long stints
Like the rest of the paddock, the McLaren drivers have struggled with their Pirelli tires, which didn't stop them from being quite fast this Friday. However, Jenson Button says he is worried about his car's performance on long runs.
Jenson Button (No. 22): 5th and 7th
In qualifying conditions, Jenson Button’s McLaren seems capable of aiming for a top 6. However, as for race conditions, the English driver is far less confident: Looking at the timing sheet, one might say it looks really good, but we’re still experiencing difficulties on long stints. I think we’re overheating the tires too much with the traction. It’s really difficult to manage the tires with these temperatures, and particularly complicated to heat up the super-softs without overheating them.
To further improve his times, Jenson Button is counting this weekend on a multitude of developments, including a new rear wing, which he has not yet fully tested: « We were able to test a lot of interesting things today – and for me, there is even more to come tomorrow. Fortunately, I will also have the new rear wing tailored to my car. Sometimes it’s hard to know what advantage it gives, especially when you only do a few laps on Saturday morning to test it. » Moreover, it is confirmed that the disappearance of the FRIC is not a disadvantage for the Woking team: « The car did not seem very different without our FRIC system. »
Kevin Magnussen (No. 20): 7th and 5th
The rookie from Roskilde showed the same level of performance as his teammate during both sessions, but also encountered the same difficulties with the tires: « The temperatures were very high, so the biggest challenge for us was getting the tires to work – and it’s going to be difficult to understand them well, especially if the conditions change for Sunday, where it might be a bit cooler. »
During the second free practice session, the top ten drivers were within one second of each other, but according to the Dane, these gaps should be put into perspective: « I can’t really explain the relatively close gaps with the cars in front of us, but everyone was running on different programs with different fuel levels. » Kevin Magnussen was finally able to test his new rear wing, successfully: « The new rear wing I tested responds well; it doesn’t upset the car’s balance, so fortunately, we can continue with it. »
