PlanetF1

Button: Carrying the '1' is a 'great responsibility'

Friday 29-January-2010 11:42

Jenson Button is determined to live up to the "great responsibility" of carrying the number '1' on his car as he approaches his first season as a McLaren driver.

The Brit clinched the World Championship with Brawn GP last season and after weeks of media speculation finally announced that he was swapping his title-winning team for a shot of challenging Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

Even though he has swapped teams, Button still retains the number '1' for his car, honour bestode to the defending World Champion at the start of every season.

But with that honour comes a sense of responsibility as both McLaren and the fraternity will look to Button to see if he can put in a repeat performance.

"I'm incredibly proud to be standing here today knowing I'll be carrying the number one for the whole season: that's a great responsibility but also a great honour. It's something I'm relishing," he said at Friday's launch of McLaren's MP4-25.

"From the very first day of testing, I'll be working with the team to learn about the car and to develop it ahead of the first race. I've said it before: the pace of development in those opening tests could well determine the outcome of the Championship.

"I've got a great team around me, and I already feel very at home here. I just can't wait to get in the car and start driving again. It really can't come soon enough!"

The Brit has high hopes for the MP4-25, revealing that initial tests all suggest that the car will be competitive.

"We've seen the numbers and everything is very positive, and driven the simulator, but the real work starts in a few days in Valencia," he said.

Asked for his thoughts on entering the season as the World Champ, Button insisted that it is time to look to the future and not focus on the past - but that it is a great feeling.

"After last year you think about what you have achieved and it goes through your mind - the road to becoming World Champion," said Button, "but after that you soon start forgetting because you are concentrating on 2010 and the new challenge.

"I've been to a few events and award ceremonies and they bring back memories. To see number one on the car here is special, but we need to forget about last year. It will always be in the back of my mind, but we need to start focusing on the future and this is the future."