02/03/2013
NEWS STORY
With just one more day in the car before Melbourne, it isn't only the rain but the cold that is frustrating Jenson Button.
At the end of another day's testing in which the mercury hit the dizzy heights of 11 degrees C (air) and 13 degrees (track), a number of drivers complained that the 'cool' temperatures were making tyre testing virtually pointless. One of the most vocal, other than Sebastian Vettel, was Jenson Button.
"I really don't know who's quick and who isn't," the Englishman told Sky Sports F1. "Dry weather for two days and circuit temperatures in the twenties, thirties is what we need because I haven't driven in that condition since Jerez.
"All the days I've driven have been freezing cold so it'd be nicer to drive in slightly hotter conditions that are sort of comparable to what we find in Melbourne."
"We can always be confident we can do a good job," he added, "but I need another day in the car. In terms of set-up work, yes, we definitely need another day. Today is really the first time that I've done set-up work that's helped us with the direction, and on such an unusual day in terms of weather, to have a good day is unusual. So I'm happy with the progress we made today but I still feel there's so much more we need to do before the first race.
"On Sunday we need to get a lot of laps done and that's because we need to spend a lot of time on the circuit to understand the car a bit more and also just developing the car. I feel there's so much we haven't done in terms of the general set-up work that you would do with a new car."
Clearly an area of concern, he added: "When we make a set-up change it does take a lot of time. That's normal with a new car but still it's taking a little bit too long. It's cost us a lot of time in the garage and it's hurt our comparisons on the circuit. So that's something we need to improve in the next two days."
As the pundits fail to get a clear picture of who's hot and who's not, the McLaren driver had a word of encouragement for his former teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
"I really don't know who's quick and who isn't," he admitted. "But I'd say that one team that has been consistently quick and consistent on their runs is the Mercedes... more than anyone else."
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