Button thrilled by 'last qualifying session'

Jenson Button's one-off return to F1 yielded an impressive P9 in qualifying this afternoon, with the Brit proving that he still very much has what it takes to race at the highest level.

Button however will start his day tomorrow from last on the grid following a 15-place grid penalty linked to engine component changes.

It's a frustrating state of affairs but one which took nothing away from the pleasure he enjoyed Saturday afternoon.

"It was a lot of fun out there," he said.

"t's always that thing, you get to a certain point and then it's the fine tuning. These tyres are completely different to last year's tyres in terms of getting them working and what have you and what goes away and how long it lasts.

"It's been quite tricky today working on the last bit, the last couple of percent. I've enjoyed it."

• Welcome back - Button hit with 15-place grid penalty!

Button's quick adaption to McLaren's new-spec MCL32 was impressive, but the 2009 world champion insisted it was a big trip into the unknown.

"Getting back into a qualifying session is awesome, but as I say, suddenly it is a big learning curve. Practice is fine, you run through your programmes, and I'm sure the race will be fine.

"But when it's qualifying and that little fine tuning with the balance of the car, I said to the team I'm not sure what's going to happen to the car through qualifying, are we going to get more grip at the front, are we going to get less?

"I don't know where the balance is going to go with these tyres and with these cars. But it was alright. Q3 wasn't very good but Q1 and Q2 were.

"I'm happy. My one and only race this year, I qualified ninth and start 20th!"

But perhaps the real takeaway from Button's assessment was his admittance that he had ran his very last qualifying session in F1, putting to rest any speculation about a full-time return to the sport.

"I've enjoyed the weekend a lot and the team has been fantastic. It's my last qualifying session, and probably one of my most enjoyable. I mean that.

"I haven't missed Formula 1, because I've had such a good six months."

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