By Alex Kapadia
Reigning Formula One world champion Jenson Button posted the fastest overall time of the two week testing period at Jerez after putting his tyres through their paces.
The McLaren driver and his team worked through a tyres compound evaluation programme, balancing aero and mechanical set-ups to the different types of tyre.
And with the sun beaming down on the track, Button’s impressive 1:18.871 proved to be unbeatable on the final – and very productive – day of testing at Jerez.
In the morning, the British driver completed a number of shorter runs on three separate tyre compounds, evaluating set-ups before switching to longer runs in the afternoon, with a view to evaluating the tyres’ durability.
Pleased with the final days testing, Button said: “It was good, it’s great for every team to get some dry running in. It’s been quite frustrating with so much rain and inconsistency with the weather. It started a little bit damp which was quite useful because we got to understand the changeover from the wet to dry tyres.”
Following his third test with the Woking team, Button said that he feels very comfortable and confident in the car.