Button: Less uncertainty over tyres in 2013 17 Jan 2013
Jenson Button believes that there will be less uncertainty with the Pirelli tyres in 2013 than there was last year. As in 2012, the Italian manufacturer has made changes to the construction of their tyres ahead of the new season, but Button is confident that the teams will cope better this time around.
“I think all the teams will go into this season feeling more assured about the Pirelli tyres,” Button told the McLaren website. “Last year was a bit of an unknown as we all got to grips with the new rubber, but that’s less likely to happen this time around, so there’s more stability there. There are differences to the tyres -the shape and the compounds, but I don’t think they’ll be as fundamental to the overall car performance as they were last year.”
Button also said that he’s excited to see how teams have developed their cars in the months between the end of the 2012 championship and the beginning of pre-season testing next month.
“In terms of regulations, yes there is some stability, so I expect most teams will have continued to refine their car package over the winter. It’s always really interesting to see how the cars develop during a period of rules stability, because you watch the progress from year to year as the engineers refine and improve their thinking and ideas. You can literally see how the car has improved from season to season. It’s crazy.
“I hope there’s stability for another reason, too: I won the last race of 2012 so it would be perfect to win the first race of 2013!”
Button, who has been at McLaren since 2010, will have a new team mate in 2013, with Lewis Hamilton having departed for Mercedes and Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez arriving from Sauber.
“I had three fantastic seasons racing alongside Lewis, but nothing stays the same in Formula One and people move on,” said Button. “It’s always interesting to have a new team-mate -there’s that inevitable getting-to-know-you period when you’re settling in, but I’m really pleased to have Checo at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. We all saw what he was capable of doing behind the wheel of a Sauber last year and I think he’s a very good addition to this team.
“The most important thing is that you have a good working relationship, that you can share ideas and information freely and that you’re working together with the engineers for the good of the team. That’s never been an issue at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and I think we’re going to work well together -Checo may only be 22, but he’s very sensible and he knows what’s needed to get the most from the car, so I predict it’ll be a very strong partnership.”
McLaren will launch their 2013 car, the MP4-28, on January 31.
For details of other 2013 car launches, click here.
For tickets and travel to 2013 FORMULA 1 races, click here.
For FORMULA 1 and F1 team merchandise, click here.
