- Interview: Jenson Button
'Ferrari are fast but we don't know how fast'
Dan Knutson
February 3, 2010
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Jenson Button used the test to get used to his new McLaren © Sutton Images
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ESPNF1's Dan Knutson talked to Jenson Button after his first day of testing with McLaren.
All three days Ferrari have been quickest and Sauber have been second. Does that set a benchmark for the season?
Jenson Button: I think you can say that Ferrari are fast, but we don't know how fast. They can't do that time if they are not competitive, but you never know what fuel they are running when they do that sort of time. Their slower runs, which I'm guessing were using a lot higher fuel, were still reasonably good so I guess they are fast. But this is the wrong place for us to be thinking about who is quick and who isn't. I'm guessing everyone is going to be having updates for the first race anyway. And with the difference in fuel loads, you could be running 10 kilos or 160, 170 kilos of fuel, so there is a massive difference and it is difficult to read into it.
I think at the next test we might have more of an understanding when people are running very different fuel loads, and you can get an understanding of the difference between those loads and how much time, how many tenths [of a second] per 10 kilos it is. Then you can work out who is quick and who isn't. But at the moment it is important for us to put our blinkers on and work with our car and improve our car.
How did your first day go?
It was a long day. We finished up at about 1 o' clock this morning, trying to get the seat right in the car. We'd done it in the mock-up, but it is always different when you get in the race car and when you get out on the circuit it is always a bit different to what you expected. So we have been doing a lot of work making sure I am comfortable in the car. Initially it wasn't quite where I wanted it to be; I was sitting quite high in the car and uncomfortable.
We have done a lot of work today and it has been really useful. In a way it would have been nice to get some more testing done, set-up work, but this test was always to get used to the environment inside the cockpit, get used to working with the team, and to run through all the checks that you always do at the first test. So it has been very useful. This morning was tough though. We have had to change a lot within the car, but I fit well now which is good. I feel comfortable with my height in the car and that is always important for your confidence.
So you are not sinking down in the cockpit and you don't have good visibility?
No I have got good visibility now. I am nice and low which is good, I never like being too high in the cockpit. It's been good. They have been changing things very quickly and that has been important today. This afternoon we have been able to do some laps, just to get me used to all the systems in the car and dealing with my engineer, and working with him while I am on the circuit and also in the pits. So it has been a very useful day.
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