Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Button expects step from newer engine spec

Jenson Button expects to make a step forward during FP3 and qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix as he takes a newer specification power unit.

The McLaren driver says he was running a high-mileage old specification Honda unit during Friday practice, where he ended up almost a second slower than team-mate Fernando Alonso. However, Button says he will receive the same unit as Alonso in final practice and hopes to move up as a result.

“I think Fernando had a reasonable balance – we were on a different spec of engine," Button said. "I was running on an older spec of engine at the end of its life. We should be able to find more performance – hopefully we’ll be up where Fernando was [in FP2], and then you have a good fight on our hands to try to get into Q3."

And Button expects a tough fight to finish in the points on Sunday but is looking forward to being able to battle with other cars.

“On our long-run pace, the first three teams are so fast, a couple of seconds quicker than the rest. So we’ll do the best we can [in FP3] and Sunday and see where we stand. I’m looking forward to it though. It’s going to be much more exciting than the last two races were, because at least we’re in the fight here. I think we’ll be in the middle of the pack, hopefully.”

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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.