Strong winds made it tricky for drivers in the opening practice sessions of 2016 according to McLaren’s Jenson Button.
Strong winds and persistent showers made the opening practice sessions of the year difficult for all of the teams.
Button ended both practice sessions inside the top 10 and despite the tricky conditions, the 2009 F1 champion is content with how things went.
“This wasn’t the easiest day on which to run race cars – even if it had been dry, those 50km/h winds made things very tricky, and the early rain made them trickier still. In fact in conditions like we saw today, when it’s wet and windy, you can lose control of the car very easily, so I hope tomorrow will be a lot calmer to be honest.
F1 will debut a new qualifying format tomorrow dubbed as the ‘elimination format’ where cars are knocked out at 90-second intervals eventually leaving two drivers to battle it out for pole position in Q3.
Button believes McLaren are well prepared to tackle this new qualifying format but believes some teams may get it wrong tomorrow.
“For qualifying tomorrow, I think it’s important that the fans know what’s happening. The fans are a big part of this sport, and it’s important that they understand the reasons for the change.
“I reckon some teams and drivers will make mistakes in quali during the next few races, but I think we’re well prepared.”
