Jenson Button got his first taste of the McLaren MP4-26 on Friday as he completed 69-laps of the Jerez circuit.
The 2009 world champion spent much of the morning acclimatising himself with the new car before setting some installation laps to check the cars systems.
“The morning was spent getting me satisfactorily fitted in the car, adapting to the hybrid – which is new to me – and getting used to how the system works. I like the power boost it gives you,” he said.
“I felt a lot more comfortable with the car at the end of the day after we’d played around with a few things in the cockpit. We’ve made some good progress.”
In the afternoon, the Brit’s laptimes began to drop as he and the team evaluated the new Pirelli tyres, of which Button believes will create some fun racing in 2011.
“We’ve tried the different Pirelli tyres – there are big differences across the compound range; not only in terms of laptime, but also with degradation and durability.”
He continued: “It’s going to be fun for racing, I think, and it’s what everyone wanted. The TV viewers will certainly know the differences between the tyres.
“It’s been a good first day. On Sunday, I hope we can start to have a crack at seeing what the car has in it.”
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