Jenson Button says he’s not unhappy with fifth place on the Barcelona grid, despite being bumped down by Fernando Alonso at the end of Q3.
Like his team mate Button has the advantage of starting on the cleaner side of the track.
“Disappointed to be fifth, and a little bit surprised!,” said Button. “It was pretty good, I felt pretty good out there. The car got better and better through qualifying with the softer tyres, and working with the set-up. My lap wasn’t too bad. I was three hundredths behind Lewis, and obviously disappointed not to be third on the grid. But three hundredths was close. I felt the lap was good.
“And then Fernando got in between us as well. It’s so, so close, three hundredths from being third to fifth. I suppose for me the positive is I’m on the clean side of the grid, and that makes a big difference.”
Button said that strategy will be complex on Sunday, but says that he’s in a good position having saved a set of tyres.
“It’s very difficult. Having your tyres in good condition makes such a big difference now, even on in-laps you’re not pushing as hard. So the tyres are a big part of the race. We’re in pretty good shape. On my soft tyres I’ve got two sets that have one timed lap and another set that’s brand new.
“I think Fernando’s used all three of his sets, which is nice. And obviously we have the prime tyre, which is going to be a tricky tyre in the race. It’s a big, big difference from the soft to the hard. You’ll see some different strategies tomorrow.”
Adam Cooper F1 