Friday: McLaren and Button won’t give up!
Jenson Button is determined to play his hand in the championship until the last moment. By posting the best times in each session on this first day, he shows Vettel and Red Bull that they will have to reckon with him on Sunday. Hamilton, on the other hand, is a bit further behind despite his second place in the second session.
Jenson Button – 1st and 1st
It’s always pleasant to drive at Suzuka, especially when you have a competitive car. It’s a breathtaking track, the first sector is phenomenal. There’s no rest, and I don’t think we breathe in that whole sector. The car feels good here, I don’t really know what information to take away from today in terms of our position compared to our competitors, but the car feels quite good. We tried several fuel loads. With a full tank, the car behaved well in the big direction changes, but we still have a few areas to improve, particularly on the long runs. The important thing for us is to have a car capable of winning.
Lewis Hamilton – 2nd and 8th
Suzuka is a fantastic track to drive. Especially when the weather is as good as it is today. Looking at the times, I think Red Bull generally runs their laps with less fuel than we do on Fridays. This has often been the case throughout the year. We are often closer in the races, and I think the pace on the long runs, especially for Jenson, is good. We have a good chance of being very competitive because our pace on a single lap also seems very good.
In fact, I think tire management during the race will be the biggest challenge, because degradation could be a slight issue for the teams. After the second session, the stewards checked my data after Liuzzi parked his car at the exit of turn 14. But since my passage speed was slower and I didn’t use KERS or DRS, I think there won’t be a problem.
