F1: Important To Get Early Points-Button

Formula 1

F1: Important To Get Early Points-Button

McLaren driver is looking ahead to Melbourne...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted March 15, 2012 Melbourne (AUS)

Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren attends the drivers portrait session during previews to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit on March 15, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo: Getty Images)

Jenson Button is optimistic about McLaren’s form heading into the first race in Melbourne, after enduring such a hard time last winter.

Button, who has won the race for both Brawn and McLaren in the past, says it’s important to log some early points.

“You do all the hard work over the winter of testing and what have you, and I think we all get very excited about coming to the first race in Melbourne,” said Button. “It’s the perfect place to start the F1 season. It’s good to be here. I’ve always enjoyed driving around Albert Park from the first time I drove here, and there have been a couple of special occasions for me, in ’09 and 2010.

“It’s nice to be back and nice to come here having had a good winter as well. The last couple of years have been a little bit tricky for us over the winter but this winter everything seems to have gone to plan. It’s difficult to know where we stand, as everyone has said, but I’m happy with what we’ve done.

“You know, everyone always says it’s important to get points on the board at the start of the year. We all know that, it’s not a new thing.”

Button said he was pleased that the track now has two DRS zones.

“I think it’s great. If you have a good DRS system it’s good for you and ours is pretty good. You always think that if you’re quick enough you don’t want DRS because you’re leading the race but if you’re a little bit further back in the pack it’s good to have two zones. Whether it’s going to make much of a difference I don’t know.

“The one DRS zone here – some of us complained that it wasn’t good enough to overtake but I think it was the right amount. It made overtaking tricky, which is what it should be, but it gave you the opportunity. So we’ll have to wait and see what the two zones do.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.

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