Jenson Button insists ‘confidence is high’ at McLaren despite difficult season

Jenson Button said there is “massive belief” within his beleaguered McLaren team that their fortunes will soon improve.

Jenson Button during the drivers press conference prior to the British Grand Prix. Geoff Caddick / EPA / July 2, 2015
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Jenson Button said there is “massive belief” within his beleaguered McLaren team that their fortunes will soon improve.

Button, the 2009 world champion, and his teammate Fernando Alonso arrive at this week’s British Grand Prix in the middle of a disappointing campaign for the Woking-based outfit.

Neither driver went beyond Lap 9 at the Austrian Grand Prix last time out, while Alonso has retired from his past four races — his worst run in the sport.

Button has finished in the points once this season — eighth in Monaco — to give him his worst start to a Formula One campaign, but the 35-year-old is positive McLaren and their engine supplier Honda, who have desperately struggled on their return to F1, will soon be back on track.

“We are one team and we work together,” Button said. “If we have issues we talk among ourselves, as that is the only way to improve the situation.

“The confidence is high within the team and there is a massive belief within the team that we will improve.

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“There is a lot in the pipeline and I will maximise what I have this weekend.”

Button, who has never finished on the British Grand Prix podium in 15 previous appearances, could be set for his final Silverstone outing this weekend.

His contract with McLaren expires at the end of the current campaign and it is unclear whether he will be given the opportunity to extend his grand prix career into a 17th season with the team.

“Every race is special — the British fans and public will be here if it is raining, whether it is 32 degrees, there is a British driver at the front or a British driver at the back,” he said. “They will always be here to support us which is fantastic.”

Meanwhile, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association has published the verdict from their fans’ survey, which they launched this season.

Ninety per cent of the 217,000 fans who replied to the questionnaire want the sport to be more entertaining.

Only one in 10 said F1 is in a better place now than in 2010 and the majority also described it as “boring”.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, was voted as the fans’ favourite driver ahead of Alonso and Button.

Lewis Hamilton, despite being the reigning world champion and boasting a greater social media following than any other driver, failed to make the top three.

“I don’t think there are any massive surprises in there other than Kimi being the favourite driver among the fans, but we knew that already,” Button said.

“It is nice to get a view of the people that are out there who are watching the race whether it is on the circuit or TV and it is nice to get their opinion.”

Button said he welcomed the attempt by F1 to connect with its fan base after it had been revealed that the sport’s global TV audience had fallen by 5.6 per cent to 425 million in 2014.

“A lot of us agree, probably not with everything, but we all have our own opinions as to how F1 can improve,” Button said.

“It is great to see that there are lots of ideas floating around in the future in terms of making the cars wider, the tyres wider, the cars lighter and hopefully more sound. These are all things that are interesting and hopefully they will happen in the future.”

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