Jenson Button says the McLaren MP4-30 "feels ten times better" at the Circuit de Catalunya now than it did in Barcelona testing.
McLaren struggled for mileage throughout pre-season, with Button carrying out the majority of the work during the second and third tests as Fernando Alonso recovered from an accident. Asked to compare how much the car has changed since testing, Button says the feeling for the driver has improved substantially.
"I don’t think you can compare it, it’s very different," Button said. "The last corner is not easy flat now, whereas then it was easy flat through the last chicane and last corner.
"No, it’s a massive difference from winter testing. We’ve also been able to put mileage in now which is a big change. The circuit is probably slower because of the heat and the wind but the car feels ten times better than it did then."
And Button admits he is encouraged to have finished FP2 in seventh place, 1.6s slower than Lewis Hamilton's fastest time.
"It’s the closest we’ve been all year. It’s always nice seeing that on the timing sheets but it is only practice. It’s been a weird day. On the prime tyre in P2 I really struggled and on the option tyre was much better. Really weird … Trying to work out why that is.
"P1 was much better on the prime tyre and I was very happy with it. A lot of set-up changes, a lot of different things on the car today with both of us, so hopefully we get a lot of information and sort out what’s best for tomorrow."
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