Both Button and Whitmarsh believe that the 32 year-old’s performance in
Canada, where he started 10th but finished a distant 15th in the same
machine as the race winner, was down to the wrong set-up, which was itself
the result of a lack of running during Friday practice.
“Everything is explainable,” Whitmarsh said in soothing tones. “Jenson is a
great driver and hasn’t become a bad one overnight. There is no reason why
he can’t turn it around and become the first double winner in Valencia.”
He certainly made an encouraging start on Friday, going fourth fastest in the
morning session with his blank canvas of a car. Somewhat worryingly the
adjustments Button made during the lunch interval did not work out and he
found himself 12th fastest in the afternoon.
“We tried something on the long runs because of the way the car was feeling
but it didn’t really go to plan as it made something else worse,” he
reported. “We will go back to the previous settings and start again from
there.”
He could at least take heart from the fact that he still managed to beat his
team-mate, proving at least that it was the car rather than the driver.
Hamilton could only go 14th quickest but said he was unconcerned as he had
already identified and rectified the problem.
Red
Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, defending his win here from last year, set
the quickest time of the day to suggest he may be the man to beat once
again, though in truth no one knows what to expect from this most
unpredictable of seasons.
Seven winners from the first seven races for the first time in history has
left pundits and fans utterly bemused as they try to predict how the weekend
will unfold.
The weather on Friday, a good 10C cooler than it was on Thursday and a lot
windier to boot, made the picture even cloudier, rendering the set-up work
less valuable and the weekend more of a lottery.
Button is desperately hoping he has the winning ticket. He joked to reporters
at Ascot that he was more familiar with a different type of horsepower. Now
is the time to remind us. Before it is too late.