Button's Pirelli boostposted in F104 | 02 | 2011

FORMER WORLD champ Jenson Button is quietly confident the switch to Pirelli tyres will boost his chances of being competitive in his McLaren this year. Last year Button struggled in qualifying because he could not extract the most out of Bridgestone rubber.

"I like the feeling of the Pirelli tyre," Button said after completing his first full test session of the season at Valencia. "It has a stable rear when you enter high-speed corners, you have a stable rear when you brake for low-speed corners, and that is something that I really do need with the car. I am happy with that step.

"There are areas where it is weaker than previous tyres – but that is the way it is built. You just change the balance of the car to suit that. You want to be quick over one lap and you want to be quick over a long run, so there is always a bit of a compromise. It is whether you can get the compromise right or not.

"In quite a few races last year I wasn't happy with my qualifying performance, but in the races we were very competitive. It is an area I need to work on, but all we can do off the circuit is try and improve areas that I think will help me.

"One area I think is that with Pirelli we have a tyre that maybe suits me more than the previous tyre we had. We have to wait and see, but I think that may be the case. I also think the work we are doing at the factory is positive."

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Jim McGill