Button: we aborted our super-soft laps

2011 F1 testing

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Jenson Button, McLaren, Jerez, 2011

Jenson Button was third after his first day of running in the new McLaren, 0.657s slower than Michael Schumcher’s Mercedes.

But he revealed afterwards he had not done a competitive run using the super-soft tyres or Drag Reduction System (adjustable rear wing).

Speaking to journalists after his first run in the MP4-26 he said:

“This morning we were mostly just fitting me into the car and getting used to KERS because it’s new to me, as it is to most drivers.

“And it’s alright, I quite like the boost of power and the system’s been running really well. So it’s just been getting used to using it as a set-up tool and everything.

“So it was a positive morning getting used to that. I feel a lot more comfortable in the car now than I did this morning, played around with a few things in the cockpit just to make me feel properly comfortable and it’s all good now, we’ve made some good progress.”

One attempt to do a flying lap on super-softs had to be aborted due to Pastor Maldonado’s crash:

“I had a go, we were trying to do a back-to-back with them and neither of my runs were good – one was for a certain reason and the other one was because of Maldonado.

“I’d just started my quick lap on the tyre. And because the tyre is so soft, that’s it, it’s done. So we came in and went out again and it wasn’t a massively quick lap.”

According to Button the difference in performance with the Pirelli tyres is greater than it was with Bridgestone – which he thinks will be good for racing:

“We tried the different tyres which has been interesting. There are big difference from the hard to the medium, to the soft, to the super-soft.

“The difference is in terms of lap time but also in terms of durability and degradation. So it’s going to be fun for racing.

“I know that the soft is changing considerably but the other tyres are staying pretty much the same. I think what everyone wanted is tyres that are very different and there a pretty big gap between the different positions of tyres.

“The viewers will know and we all know the differences between the tyres and I think it’s good to see that on the circuit.”

He added: “I’ve heard that people are finding a second from soft to super-soft tyres, half a second between soft and medium, and half a second between medium and hard.

“There’s a lot of difference between the tyres and if you run one one day and you run it the next day you’ll see a big difference in pace and competitiveness. It’s very difficult to know – I haven’t got a clue where we are, really.”

He said he was happy with the progress the team made in his first day of running with the new car:

“It’s good to get to know the tyres. We’re going to do some set-up work, we haven’t done a lot of set-up work, it’s been mostly just getting to grips with certain things.

“We had a big change over lunch which took a long time, an hour and a half to two hours.

“It’s a good first day – we haven’t set the world alight but we’ve collected data and it’s been important to do that. On Sunday we can have a crack at seeing what the car has in it.”

He added: “The important thing is the basic balance of the car is reasonable and there’s something to build on.

“There’s nothing that stands out as ‘wow, that’s an area where we’re weak’. Its not weak.”

Button said McLaren’s experience with KERS has helped him get to grips with the technology, which he hasn’t used before:

“The team, obviously, are quite experienced in that area. I’m guessing I jumped into a car that had the system pretty well set up already.

“I think it’s a very useful tool. I had no issues at all on the braking. Maybe we were a little bit conservative with it. I did a lot of laps in the simulator with it so I’m used to pushing buttons to use the KERS.

“It was fine, I felt very at home with it. There were no issues at all and hopefully it will continue that way.”

Button did some preliminary trials of the Drag Reduction System, but so far has only tested it to make sure it works properly:

“I also tried the rear wing a couple of times – not in anger, just making sure it’s working. It’s just like pushing the KERS button, it’s amazing the boost you get from it.

“I sat behind the Renault on the main straight and he was adjusting it and I didn’t realise how quickly it was going to move from stalled to getting it back.

“It’s an amazing bit of kit. It’s comedy watching someone using it thought because it just looks wrong, the rear wing moving. It looks like something has fallen off. It’s going to take a bit to get used to it and stop laughing.

“It is quite busy in the cockpit, first day in a new car. We’ll get used it pretty quick. The buttons won’t be an issue with the KERS and the rear wing.

“The KERS I feel I’m very at home with already. I’m sure the rear wing’s going to take a little bit longer to use it correctly.

“It’s like pushing the KERS button. It’s very efficient, it’s amazing the speed you pick up.

“I never used it on a timed lap, we only used it on in-laps to just get a feel for it and make sure everything is working correctly. It’s oner of those things you want to take a bit of time with before you actually use it in anger.

“I’m pushing the button just to see if it’s adjusting. I’ve got the mirrors set up also on the rear wing so I can see what’s happening, making sure it’s re-attaching. I was quite surprised how quickly it reacts to the button which is good.”

Button was asked about his thoughts on whether drivers’ activities outside of F1 should be restricted following Robert Kubica’s crash:

“It’s tricky. On one side of us we love racing, we’re very competitive, we love adrenaline. Obviously there are always going to be limits on the activities we can do outside of the car.

“For a lot of people that limit wouldn’t be an issue because they’re not adrenaline junkies, they don’t love to do other crazy stuff. But we do.

“For Mark [Webber] it was part of his training and it was a very unlucky incident.

“And you have to say the same for Robert. It’s something completely different to Mark’s incident but an horrific incident and you would never expect that sort of thing to happen.

“Robert obviously loves rallying – it’s something that’s close to his heart and it’s difficult to stop a driver from doing that.

“But what are you going to do – wrap us up in cotton wool when we’re not driving Formula 1 cars? It’s tricky. There’s a definite balance that is very difficult to get.”

He said that he had not been prevented from taking part in activities he was interested in – and joked that his triathlons were a welcome distraction from facing the press at F1 meetings:

“No I’m pretty happy. I do triathlons which is not dangerous. It’s a lot of fun and it’s something I enjoy when I’m out of the car.

“I think you need something sometimes to take your mind away from racing – and this!”

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Keith Collantine
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31 comments on “Button: we aborted our super-soft laps”

  1. If Button is a man of his word… then looks like Mclaren have arrived at the party

    1. Errr, yes! No times with KERS, super-softs or lowered wing…

      I think we might have a monster here, if the other teams used those, especially combined.

      1. I’d always be careful. Macca may be sandbagging, but then so may everyone else.

  2. Looks like McLaren are in healthy shape to mix it for the wins and championship again this year. I am looking forward to a close battle between Lewis and Jenson as well.

    Interesting comments on the rear wing, seems like he really enjoyed it! KERS was probably set up a bit by Lewis, who already had experience with it in the past.

  3. So DRS (Drag reduction system) is simply the ARW (Adjustable rear wing)?

    1. Yes, but with a less obvious name :-(

    2. Yeah, that’s the more ‘official’ term for it.

      1. I’m going to call it the flippy flappy thing at the back of the car, or shorten it to FFT, gotta nice ring to it.

        1. Lol..! I love it..!!! Haha

  4. Jenson will eat his words if a shark knaws his left leg during his next triathlon…

    1. A good one, haha :)

  5. “It’s a good first day – we haven’t set the world alight but we’ve collected data and it’s been important to do that. On SUNDAY we can have a crack at seeing what the car has in it.”

    “The important thing is the basic balance of the car is reasonable and there’s something to build on.

    “There’s nothing that stands out as ‘wow, that’s an area where we’re weak’. ITS NOT WEAK.”

    I cant wait until sunday!!!! :D

    1. guarantee that JB will be a good half sec quicker than the rest at the end of Sunday

    2. It’s tomorrow I’m looking forward to – it’s Lewis’ turn to go for it!

    3. Wow, André. obrigado! ;)

  6. this will be worth watching as I have it pretty good authority from a pal who works at Mclaren HQ that they have 1.5 – 2 secs in the car already…. they just weren’t pushing today !

    1. Every tea, says something like that but I hope so.

      Jenson and Lewis are more evenly matched the better the car performs, so it would be great if they had the best car and we saw a head-to-head. And it would really ask questions of Vettel to not have the best car on the day over half the races.

      1. Every tea, says something like that but I hope so.

        Best typo ever.

    2. If that is true I wonder if that is not taking into account what happens when they put the real front wing on? The one they are currently running is clearly the wing they used in Bahrain and I can’t believe that they will be using the same one especially with the actuator posts still stuck on it…

      The rear wing also looks almost identical (apart from a very subtle change) So I wonder if they have a different one of those to put on too?

  7. It is so much more interesting to read JB’s reaction than LH’s…

    1. I agree, hamiltons agenda is to look cool, confident, kind of like the common people’s language and feel. leave that style to the politicians. What a true F1 fan wants is technical details too.

  8. HounslowBusGarage
    11th February 2011, 21:57

    Well, it does sound as though JB is ever so relaxed about the test and the car. There doesn’t seem to be any tension in this interview -no “it’s got no grip” or “the brakes don’t stop it”.
    I’m sure that JB has matured and will continue to do so maybe, but really, maybe, Maclaren might have a winner here.
    Lewis said the other day that he hadn’t even tried the ARW, so they are obviously collecting data in an orderly fashion; testing the variables in order of magnitude of effect and all that.
    Sunday could be interesting.

    1. Big M, Small c, Big L
      11th February 2011, 23:39

      One a, not two:

      http://bigmsmallcbigl.com/

    2. This is one of the reasons I like Button – here he is, giving a fairly long interview, he’s not afraid to give out information, he knows what details the team want to hide, and he’s funny. No stilted blandness and cliche, which is what you still get from Hamilton.

      1. Hamiltons young and was raised in this environment. If he doesn’t give all his got, it’s generally obvs. Although Jens is more interesting, I don’t thing you can accuse Lewis of deliberatley misleading anyone.

        He’s just too well conditioned.

  9. I love the enthusiasm and the positivity of the McLaren fans here. I swear im always looking for negativity in the comments the McLaren drivers make, like for instance picking out the little muted comments they make like “the basic balance of the car is reasonable”, its like ‘reasonable’ I expect more than reasonable!. I guess im just a pessismist, but i really hope the car’s quick this season!

  10. Fair enough as you can’t always keep racing in F1 you need to try other things that’s what people like Kubica, Button,Webber do or did but it turns out to be unlucky for some of them.

  11. this is a joke. I mean why would he say something like that. if what he is saying is true then i would keep it to myself and then show it on the track,he might gonna have to eat his words. I mean you don’t hear this from ferrari or red bull ,do you think rbd is this slow or ferrari. I’m pretty sure they are also testing the reliability of the car,after all the ferrari has made in all but 1 test session 100 laps ,so do you actually think they are pushing it to the limits orlooking for times instead of working on the setup,or new components.
    Button just shut it. you probably know that the otehr teams are faster than you.
    something that makes me laugh is that when red bull or ferrari have the best timethen people here write about how unimportant the times are but when the mclaren sets a 1.2 0r .7 slower than the fastest time ,then they write about how good th car is if they are not using the kers pr rear wing. How do you know the others are using them?

    1. There’s a lot of testing yet to come my friend and since this is a British site, it should be expected that they have more positive comments about the Mac than they would for Ferrari… I expect that should you visit an Italian forum that they believe the F150th Italia, Not Ford F-150 truck, has another two seconds in it with a full tank and the primes on.

      This doesn’t mean either are correct; it just shows the enthusiasm these fans, and indeed us all, have for Formula 1.

      1. this is a British site

        No it isn’t. This site is hosted on a British domain – that’s it.

      2. no,it is not

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