Button sees tyre progress
Jenson Button claims Honda are making progress in their bid to solve the problem which ruined his Australian Grand Prix chances.
The 26-year-old qualified on pole position at Albert Park but struggled to heat his front tyres, leaving him easy prey for rivals who quickly relegated him to fifth.
Button, whose engine blew just yards from the finishing line, returned to testing this week at Vallelunga in the hope of rectifying the problem.
“Testing went well this week,” he said after two days at the Italian circuit.
“The weather wasn’t great yesterday as it was fairly windy and cold but actually that was perfect for us as we are doing a lot of work to see why we can’t get heat into the tyres or make them work when the temperatures drop.
“I spent the two days mostly concentrating on this along with some regular tyre testing for the next races. We got some very useful information so all in all it’s been a good test.”
Chief engineer Mark Ellis is also hopeful a solution has been found to the worrying tyre issue before the next race in San Marino later this month.
He added: “Our aim is clearly to carry our qualifying performance into the race to help us to deliver our goals.
“We are optimistic that our efforts this week, coupled with the many new components to be tested next week in Barcelona, will achieve this in Imola.”
