Armed with upgrades to the MP4-30 chassis as well as changes to the Honda engine, McLaren showed little improvement on the timesheet in Practice One before a more eye-catching performance in the second session saw Button finish in seventh place.
I was surprised by the McLarens pace in qualy trim and it was maybe higher than even we expected them to be," commented Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson after the session.
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On F1s last visit to the Barcelona circuit in March for the final winter test, the MP4-30 proved both the slowest and least reliable of all the 2015 cars in action and the team have since Nike Air Force 1 Prezzo then spent race weekends steadily clawing their way back from the foot of the grid.
Two months on, Button admitted there was a night-and-day difference in performance around the high-speed track.
I dont think you can compare its very different. Its a massive difference to winter testing, were also able to put mileage in now so thats a big change, the former world champion said.
The circuits probably slower because of the heat and the wind but the car feels 10 times better than it did then, so its good.
When it was put to him that seventh place with a best lap time just 1.6 seconds slower than Lewis Hamiltons pacesetting Mercedes appeared to represent good progress, Button replied: Thats the closest weve been all year. Its always nice to see it on the timing sheets, but it is only practice.
We always seem quicker in P2 than in qualifying, but well see. I would say its a promising day when you compare us to the front guys.
Although pleased with the apparent step forward, Button said the sizzling heat and gusty conditions that dominated Fridays running had made for a challenging pair of sessions.
Its been tough day today I think for everyone, he recounted. "P1 with the prime tyre felt reasonably good but tough in terms of the balance around the lap with the wind and the hot temperatures.
P2 really struggled on the prime tyre, the option tyre was much better, but theres a lot of work for us to do in every area to optimise what we have. Its been a good day in terms if data, but theres a lot of work to do to understand why the car is doing certain things.
Team-mate Fernando Alonso, returning to the scene of his mysterious accident at the test in February, finished P2 a couple of tenths slower than Button in 11th place.
"It was okay," the Spaniard said. "We need to check all the tests we did today and tomorrow hope everything's together and increase the performance a little bit."
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