McLaren’s Jenson Button says adjusting to the higher speeds and later braking points of 2017 Formula 1 cars “takes time”, after his first day of practice back behind the wheel.
The British driver stepped back from F1 at the end of last season but was drafted in to replace Fernando Alonso – who is racing the Indianapolis 500 – for the Monaco Grand Prix.
He was 14th quickest in first practice and improved to 12th in FP2, admitting “everything felt natural” from the very first lap.
However, Button did add that it will take time for him to adjust to the quicker speeds and later braking zones, as well as the larger sizes of the cars.
“It was funny when I did the install lap this morning, I had a little giggle to myself,” he said. “Have I missed it? No, but when you jump in the car, you definitely enjoy the moments that you have.
“I’ve really enjoyed practice, both the long and short runs. FP2 was a bit of a struggle to really find my feet with the car.
“I’m braking so much later than what I’m used to here and carrying so much speed into the corners.
“Adjusting to that takes time, so with another day with the engineers and a look through the data, I’m confident that I can improve for Saturday.
“As soon as I exited the pits, everything felt very natural. The weirdest thing is when you’re behind a car or when you let a car past, because you look at it and it’s gigantic.
“I haven’t really thought about where I hope to finish. It’s a very mixed-up grid at the moment which I’m sure will all change again on Saturday.”
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