"For most teams 100 laps isn’t anything, but for us it was like 1000 laps because there is so much for us still to learn," says JB
Friday 27 February 2015 19:54, UK
Jenson Button says the 100 laps the MP4-30 completed at Barcelona on Friday were the equivalent of a thousand laps for the fledgling McLaren-Honda reunion.
The 2009 world champion’s haul of laps amounted to nearly 50 per cent of what the team had produced during the previous nine days of winter testing as their new car, and new power unit, finally put some meaningful mileage under its belt.
Button’s opening remark at his media briefing summed up the team’s breakthrough. "Finally we have something to talk about!” he joked.
“It was a really nice day, the reliability was great and it’s amazing how much you can achieve when you are reliable," said Button.
“It’s a big step forward. For most teams 100 laps isn’t anything, but for us it was like 1000 laps because there is so much for us still to learn about this package.”
But as Button was equally quick to caution, the MP4-30 – and the McLaren-Honda package as a whole – remains a work in progress. The car is still yet to embark on a full race simulation, with Button’s longest spell on track consisting of three 12-lap stints, while the Honda engine has not yet been tested at full power.
"If you look at the timing screens we are nowhere near quick enough, but there is a lot of progress that has been made today and a lot that we can improve on over the next couple of days," said Button.
"I think 'not running at full power' is the wrong way to say it. We know there is more that we can achieve with the power unit, but we are trying to push as much as we can right now. So where do I think we are? I think we have made good progress but there is still a long way to go. The feeling is reasonably good, but a work in progress definitely – we are not where we want to be.”
Button's fastest lap of the day was timed at 1:25.590, almost three seconds shy of the stunning benchmark set by Mercedes.
"There is a long way to go before we are fighting at the front," Button conceded.
After enduring a myriad of issues with the MP4-30 this winter, even McLaren's 'breakthrough' day wasn't without a late hiccup when the car stopped on track in the final moments.
“The stoppage was an electrical issue, I wasn’t going to do any more running anyway as it was just practice pitstops," said Button. "They brought it back to the garage, solved it and started it up and it was no issue at all.”
