Breaking news
WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans test day
Button admits he found Le Mans “disconcerting” at first
Former F1 World Champion Jenson Button says his first experience of Le Mans was “another world” from what he was used to, but ended the test day happy with his confidence levels.
Charles Bradley Filip Cleeren
Edited: Jun 3, 2018, 7:11 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Button completed his first 20 laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe in the SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1-AER he shares with fellow ex-F1 racer Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.
“I was reasonably happy, but in the morning I found it another world – driving around here in a car I don’t really know,” said Button. “I found it quite disconcerting. But we made some good changes over lunch, and I was much happier with the car in the afternoon.
“[I had] a lot more confidence. High speed, good confidence, and the braking was much better too. We had quite a lot of ‘push’ and a lot of the corners here are very tight and they come up on you very quickly, which is very different from what I’m used to.
“I definitely got to grips with it in the afternoon, much happier. But you always want more running, and new tyres. We didn’t have enough time, look at the data we have, and hopefully we get some good laps in the Wednesday tests.”
Petrov ended the day fifth quickest with a lap of 3m21.603s. The #11 car lost track time with two issues, one in the morning and another just after lunch.
Button explained: “We lost a lot time because of a sensor issue this morning, so we lost a couple of hours just in the garage, it was a shame. Then we had another small issue after lunch, so our track on time was quite limited. I only ran one set of tyres, not a new set.
“I think I did 20 laps, but I learnt a lot. This place is all about building confidence and gaining time. You can go out and be as quick as you can, but there’s a big chance you’ll go off. You’ve really got to respect this circuit. It’s tough, but I feel very confident now at the end of the day.
“But I’d rather have had another 50 laps.”
Flashback: Le Mans 1980, the year Button was born...
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rossiter recommendation led to Button WEC drive
Next article Porsche set to make Nordschleife lap record attempt
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Charles Bradley
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Formula 1
Formula 1 11 mo
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 13, 2024
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 12, 2024
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
More from
Jenson Button
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Formula 1
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
1 mo
Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 mo
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
More from
SMP Racing
Sirotkin joins GT World Challenge Europe enduros with SMP
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Jul 8, 2020
Sirotkin joins GT World Challenge Europe enduros with SMP
Toyota not surprised by reduced WEC LMP1 field
WEC
WEC Jul 25, 2019
Toyota not surprised by reduced WEC LMP1 field
Opinion: Why SMP Racing's WEC exit should be no shock
WEC
WEC Jul 9, 2019
Opinion: Why SMP Racing's WEC exit should be no shock
Latest news
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
4 h
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
7 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
8 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe