McLaren driver Jenson Button says that he doesn't feel that any of their rivals has a stronger car than the MP4-25 at the Spa-Francorchamps track, despite only qualifying down in fifth place on the grid for today's race.
Mark Webber took pole position at the Belgian track, the twelfth time a Red Bull has taken a pole position in thirteen races this season.
But despite the fact that McLaren has fallen off the pace in recent races, Button has suggested that their car is right at the top of the pecking order at the Spa-Francorchamps track.
He did, though, suggest that the race itself would be fraught with any number of challenges.
"I'm pretty happy," Button smiled after taking fifth on the grid, "I am fifth on the grid and us two [McLaren drivers] set our times when the circuit was damp - I don't think anyone else did at the front.
"Personally I don't feel there is a car here quicker than the one we have, so that is exciting for the race. We had a difficult weekend in Hungary. We made a step forward and I think our car works well on this kind of circuit."
He added: "We should be happy with our performance. We were a little bit unlucky with the weather but we will make up for it."
He added that he was entering the race with just two laps worth of experience of the track in the dry with full tanks, so he claimed that the first lap could well be "interesting".
"We've driven with full tanks before braking for Turn 1 so I don't think La Source will be too much of an issue – Eau Rouge is going to be interesting though," he grinned.
"Eau Rouge is flat for us on low fuel and on high fuel – we think! So, you are not going to want to lift a millimetre off the throttle pedal because you want that tow down to Turn 5. It is going to be a fun Eau Rouge.
"I hope it is dry but if it is wet we will have some fun as well."
He added that should the race come down to a mix of conditions, with current forecasts predicting a dry start but with rain during the race, he felt confident that he could make the right tactical call after winning in mixed conditions at Australia and China earlier this year.
"We've made some very good calls as a team in the tricky conditions. There is only a 2/5 chance of rain, but that normally means it is going to rain here at Spa," he muttered.
"If there is a sniff of rain then it will rain. So, it makes the race a lot more exciting and a lot of it is down to the decision of us to make the right call and be on the right tyres at the right time.
"I would personally like the start to be dry because it means I have more opportunities on the first lap to overtake. If it is torrential rain, it will start behind the safety car, which is not as good. Hopefully the race will start dry at 2pm and then we will have showers during it, as I think we can make some good calls."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
