Jenson Button says he must improve in qualifying to boost his chances of retaining his world title - starting at this weekend's German Grand Prix.
The Englishman has not qualified in the top three for any races this year and has been out-qualified by McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the last six.
"My aim must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon," he said.
"If I do that I can maximise my Sunday performance without needing to play catch-up during the race."
Despite his poor qualifying record this season, Button has managed to rise to second in the championship standings, 12 points behind Hamilton.
This weekend's venue, Hockenheim, was the venue for one of his most memorable drives in 2004 when he qualified in 14th place for BAR but managed to finish second.
And he hopes he can power his way through the field in Germany again this weekend, possibly with the help of an exhaust blown diffuser - which increases downforce and therefore cornering speed.
McLaren's mechanics have been working on it since trying it out in practice at the British Grand Prix, and will once again use it in practice this weekend to assess progress before making a decision on whether or not to use it in the race.
"Hopefully we'll have a positive test and we will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it," said Button.
But McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh was more guarded in his opinions.
"You can't be entirely confident you've solved the issues, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said.
"We've made some modifications in light of the data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."
By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch
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The Englishman has not qualified in the top three for any races this year and has been out-qualified by McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the last six.
"My aim must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon," he said.
"If I do that I can maximise my Sunday performance without needing to play catch-up during the race."
Despite his poor qualifying record this season, Button has managed to rise to second in the championship standings, 12 points behind Hamilton.
This weekend's venue, Hockenheim, was the venue for one of his most memorable drives in 2004 when he qualified in 14th place for BAR but managed to finish second.
And he hopes he can power his way through the field in Germany again this weekend, possibly with the help of an exhaust blown diffuser - which increases downforce and therefore cornering speed.
McLaren's mechanics have been working on it since trying it out in practice at the British Grand Prix, and will once again use it in practice this weekend to assess progress before making a decision on whether or not to use it in the race.
"Hopefully we'll have a positive test and we will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it," said Button.
But McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh was more guarded in his opinions.
"You can't be entirely confident you've solved the issues, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said.
"We've made some modifications in light of the data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."
By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch
