Jenson Button says the target for McLaren is to make it through to Q3 in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

McLaren looked strong in practice on Friday and continued that form on Saturday morning with Fernando Alonso finishing eighth in FP3. With both cars running reliably, Button says the potential is there for the team to aim for a spot in Q3 which would boost its hopes of points on Sunday.

"Expectations are to hopefully qualify in the top ten and to score some points," Button said.

"[Reliability] is good. Hopefully we will have no more this weekend. It feels good, the team is in a good place. It has been a tough few races, but we have stuck together and are staying strong and we will see what we can do this weekend before the break."

And Button says the car feels as strong as it was in Monaco, where he finished eighth to score McLaren's first points of 2015.

"It is fun to drive and the last time I felt it was this good was in Monaco, so that is promising. Hopefully we can have a reasonable weekend. It is tough with the temperatures, but we have all got to deal with that."

REPORT: Hamilton tops FP3 by just 0.098s in Hungary

Click here for a gallery of Sergio Perez's crash in FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

FIA confirms Red Bull-Ford’s lead in second ADUO evaluation

Red Bull-Ford has retained its position as Formula 1’s power unit benchmark after the FIA…

10 hours ago

Audi F1 junior Slater hails ‘incredible’ Madring after F3 test

Spain’s new Madring has yet to host its first Formula 1 race, but FIA F3…

11 hours ago

Webber reveals how F1 greats shaped his guidance of Piastri

Mark Webber’s role in Oscar Piastri’s career is not simply about managing the McLaren driver’s…

12 hours ago

Hot off the press, cool in the cockpit

Had Niki Lauda been given the good fortune to read the next day's newspaper on…

14 hours ago

Ferrari set for emotional Michael Schumacher tribute at Monza

Few places in Formula 1 carry as much emotional weight for Ferrari as Monza, and…

15 hours ago

Red Bull hit with Dutch GP reality check: ‘We’ve taken a step back’

Red Bull has been forced to confront an uncomfortable reality after the Dutch Grand Prix,…

16 hours ago