FORMULA 1 2011

[MIKA27]

Button on kids, titles and Schumi

The only new little buttons we'll be seeing in F1 this season are those on the steering wheels as Jenson says he's not ready for kids.

The McLaren driver, who is dating model Jessica Michibata, insists he won't start planning a family until he hangs up his helmet.

But it's not because he doesn't want kids. Rather, it's because he feels the responsibility of having children could lead to him thinking twice before chancing that overtaking move.

"No, when I have kids it will change but not yet," the 31-year-old told the Sunday Express.

"That's one reason why I don't want to have kids while I am racing. It's not worth the risk.

"Also, you don't get enough time to spend with them. It hasn't crept in yet. I will stop when it does. If you start feeling fearful of pushing the car to the limit, you have got to stop. There is no point."

As for this year's World Championship, Button is intent on fighting for the title that he lost to Sebastian Vettel last season.

In a disappointing first campaign with McLaren, the 2009 World Champion finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship and says he is as hungry as the new World Champ to take the title.

"He (Vettel) won't be any hungrier than I am. I'm as fit as I have ever been. Mentally? We have to make sure we are mentally strong and make sure everyone in the team is focused and positive."

And what's an interview without being asked for an opinion on Michael Schumacher, who Button believes still has what it takes to compete at the front of the pack.

"I don't agree with that at all," was his response when asked if Schumacher had lost his pace. "I think he is not happy with the car. Look at NASCAR, where you have guys in their 50s still winning."

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Klien still chasing final HRT seat for 2011

Christian Klien is still vying to join the Formula One grid for the 2011 season, confirming his manager is in constant contact with the Hispania outfit.

Currently, just one seat remains open, with all but HRT confirming their full-driver line-ups, though the Spanish team has confirmed one of their drivers in the form of Narain Karthikeyan.

"My manager Roman Rummenigge is in permanent contact with the team's management," Klien told his personal website. "Needless to say I would love to drive for HRT."

The Austrian is confident that the team will make progress in their second season as they've managed to develop and build their own chassis in-house.

"I am convinced the team will make good progress and surprise a few people. In Geoff Willis and chief designer Paul White they have engineers who know very well how to build competitive racing cars. I would love to develop it further."

Klien doesn't believe Vitantonio Liuzzi of Giorgio Mondini have an advantage over himself, despite both of them taking part in pre-season testing for the team.

"All test were done with the 2010 car, which I have raced on five weekends last season," he said. "Together with the race engineers I did a lot of setup work on it to improve performance. At the end of the season we were able to close the gap to the other teams although there was not a single new part all year long.

"Other drivers like Tonio or Giorgio Mondini have no experience in this car. From a team's perspective it is only justified to get as much feedback as possible and test other drivers' work."

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Hispania to launch car on Friday

Friday is D-Day for Hispania Racing after the team confirmed their new car will make its track debut in Barcelona.

The Spanish-based outfit first released images of their new challenger, the F111, at the start of February, but they've been using their 2010 chassis during testing.

Hispania's bosses originally planned to have the car ready for testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on either Wednesday on Thursday, but they confirmed to GP.Update.net that Friday will be their launch day.

The team are also expected to name their second driver at the end of the working week with Tonio Liuzzi expected to be confirmed as Narain Karthikeyan's partner for the 2011 season.

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Suzuka secures its immediate future

Suzuka will remain on the Formula One calendar for at least another season following an agreement between race organisers and F1 bosses.

The Mie Prefecture circuit has been hosting the Japanese Grand Prix for the past two years following Toyota's decision to discontinue the hosting of the race at the Fuji Speedway.

There have been doubts over the future of Suzuka after Honda and tyre manufacturer Bridgestone's withdrew from the sport. The lack of profit has also put the race's future in question.

However, the Kyodo news agency reports that Japan Times Mobilityland Corporation, the company that runs the circuit, has signed a one-year extension with F1 officials to host the race until 2012.

This year's Japanese GP will take place from October 7-9.

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Perez: Top 10 achievable

Sergio Perez is setting his sights high for his debut race in Formula One, saying a top 10 finish is "achievable" in Melbourne.

The Mexican, who will partner Kamui Kobayashi at Sauber, has held his own during pre-season testing so far and he posted the fourth fastest time in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old admits he can't wait to get to Albert Park for the 2011 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"I am really looking forward to seeing where I am in Melbourne, because testing is a good experience, but I love to race," he told Autosport.

"I get a lot more motivated when I am in a race weekend. So now I am looking forward to starting the season and being in a race weekend, and also to learning, because you learn a lot in qualifying and in the race situation. So I am looking forward to seeing where I am, and I am very confident that I will be quite competitive from my first outing."

Perez added that he hopes to challenge for points straightaway.

"I think I would be really happy if I could be top 10," he said. "I think it's achievable. I think we can achieve a top 10. This is our aim, to be in the points, and this is something we are aiming at."

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Pirelli welcomes tweak to tyre rules

Tyre manufacturer Pirelli has welcomed the FIA's decision to give them the green light to carry out additional testing during Friday practice.

Motor sport's governing body confirmed on Tuesday that it has made changes to the Sporting Regulations which will give the Italian manufacturer an opportunity to evaluate new compounds at grands prix.

Under previous rules, Pirelli would've been unable to analyse new tyre types throughout the year due to the in-season testing ban

"The latest amendments to the sporting regulations are simply another part of our pre-season preparations as we build up to our Grand Prix debut in just over two weeks' time," Pirelli's motorsport chief Paul Hembery said. "We needed to put in place a mechanism within the regulations now to allow us to test new tyres in a competitive context this year if necessary.

"It's great that we have this possibility open to us because we are already hard at work defining the specification of our tyres for the future. Without this potential opportunity we would be unable to test with a current car and would be relying solely on a previous generation vehicle, so it could be a good solution to the testing issue for both ourselves and the teams."

A second change to the rule will see teams handed an additional set of prime tyres at selected races.

Hembery added: "We're not sure how often or indeed if at all we are going to use these fresh opportunities. But the effect is to open up our options by putting in place at an early stage some pre-determined processes before we get into the swing of the season. Both the teams and ourselves are having to take on a lot of data in a comparatively short space of time, so the latest tyre regulation amendments from the World Motor Sport Council could help to accelerate that learning process if required."

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De la Rosa returns 'home' to McLaren

The familiar face of Pedro de la Rosa will be back in the McLaren garage this season after the team re-signed him as their test and reserve driver.

The Spaniard left the Woking-based team at the start of the 2010 season to take up a race seat at Sauber. However, he was dropped by the Hinwil outfit after 13 races and he took up the post of Pirelli test driver.

"Of all the teams I've driven for in Formula 1, McLaren is the one that really feels like home," said de la Rosa, who spent seven years with McLaren from 2003 until 2009.

"So I'm very excited about returning to the team to help push the development of the MP4-26.

"Lewis and Jenson already have an extremely positive and productive working relationship - so, building on and adding to their existing rapport, I'm aiming to do everything I can to help them get even more from our car, our engineers and our technical resources back at the McLaren Technology Centre."

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh is happy to have de la Rosa back at McLaren and also confirmed that Gary Paffett will also be retained as test and reserve driver.

"I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say that I'm delighted that Pedro has chosen to return to McLaren," Whitmarsh said.

"He rejoins us with even greater experience, and his motivation and attention to detail remain as sharp as ever. His recruitment adds considerable strength in depth to our driver line-up.

"With two world champion race drivers in Lewis and Jenson, and two of the world's most experienced and capable development drivers in Pedro and Gary, we feel we have a quartet of talent that is absolutely second-to-none.

"Meanwhile, we wish Gary a very successful season in the DTM series with Mercedes-Benz - and are delighted that, away from the world's racetracks, he'll continue to give us the benefit of his considerable technical and developmental abilities."

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No end to McLaren's woes in Barcelona

McLaren endured another problematic day in pre-season testing in Barcelona on Wednesday as reliability woes restricted Lewis Hamilton's running.

While the likes of Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull and Ferrari's Felipe Massa managed to complete over 100 laps on day two at the Circuit de Catalunya, Hamilton managed only 57 laps after twice breaking down in the morning session.

He was expected to do pitstop rehearsals with a full-race crew and some race simulation, but it was cut short by mechanical problems.

Hamilton completed only 10 laps in the first couple of hours due to a hydraulics leak and things got worse before lunch when he had an exhaust failure.

McLaren, though, remain upbeat with the team stating in a press release that 'Lewis declared himself positive with the new components brought to this test, and the team is positive that it can end its preparations with two trouble-free days of running'.

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Another day, another Red Bull fastest lap

Red Bull maintained their dominance in pre-season testing in Barcelona on Wednesday with Sebastien Vettel clocking the fastest lap.

After Mark Webber posted a 1:22.544 to claim the best time on Tuesday, Vettel kept the defending Champions atop the timesheets with a 1:21.865 - the quickest time in pre-season testing so far.

The 2010 World Champ posted his time inside the first two hours of testing under cloudy skies at the Circuit de Catalunya and no one was able to knock him off his perch for the rest of the session and he spent the bulk of the afternoon doing long runs.

Red Bull's sister car, Toro Rosso, was second fastest with Sebastien Buemi 0.531 off Vettel's pace. It was a big improvement for Buemi after he found himself more than three seconds off the pace on Tuesday after mechanical problems.

Vitaly Petrov, who was second on day one, had another encouraging display with a 1:22.670.

The big story of the day though was McLaren's problems. Although Lewis Hamilton managed to post a 1:22.888 late in the day, his morning was session was blighted with problems. Most of the other drivers completed more than 100 laps, but Hamilton could only manage 57 laps due to a hydraulics leak and an exhaust failure.

Felipe Massa, whose Ferrari sported a new aerodynamic package that included a new layout of the exhausts, completed the top five with a 1:23.324. He was followed by Force India's Paul di Resta and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi who were both more than two seconds off Vettel's pace.

Mercedes also tested a new exhaust system and Nico Rosberg was eighth with a 1:25.807. Birthday boy Pastor Maldonado could only manage 29 laps on Wednesday following a problem with his KERS early in the session.

Times

01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:21.865 112 laps

02. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:22.396 + 0.531 120 laps

03. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.670 + 0.805 116 laps

04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:22.888 + 1.023 57 laps

05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:23.324 + 1.459 101 laps

06. Paul di Resta Force India 1:24.334 + 2.469 118 laps

07. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:24.436 2.571 107 laps

08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.807 + 3.942 100 laps

09. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1:26.090 + 4.225 98 laps

10. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:26.989 + 5.124 29 laps

11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1:28.982 + 7.117 64 laps

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Brundle: McLaren's MP4-26 a 'mess'

Concerns over McLaren's MP4-26 are mounting with the BBC commentary team the latest to stick the knife into the Woking team's 2011 challenger.

McLaren have struggled with reliability issues during pre-season testing and Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have admitted they are concerned about the lack of mileage with the new season just around the corner. "I'd be surprised if we can really match the Red Bull and Ferrari when we get to Melbourne," Button said after testing in Barcelona on Tuesday.

"I think that's a big ask considering the mileage that we've had compared to them and the pace at the last test compared to them. I think that's going to be tricky, but never say never."

BBC trio Martin Brundle, David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan didn't hold back in their criticism of the McLaren car during their season review for the public broadcaster.

"I watched the [McLaren] out on track a week ago and it's a mess," Brundle said.

"It didn't slow down. It didn't turn in. It couldn't get the power down. Lewis [Hamilton] looked absolutely at sea in the thing. Clearly they have a fundamental issue."

Coulthard added: "If your car doesn't run quick straight out of the blocks then it is a problem. By the time you sort it out everyone will have brought their second and third upgrades along."

McLaren's decision to use a different designer every year came under attack from former team boss Jordan.

"I have a real problem with McLaren over this whole concept," Jordan said.

"Where is the thought process? Where is the evolution? Adrian Newey [Red Bull's chief technical officer] doesn't do things like that. No major, winning team currently uses that system. I don't get it.

"Both of the drivers are very unhappy. It probably needs a whole new car at this early stage.

"McLaren have done this now too often. This was all very fine in David's era when there was a test team, test drivers, a whole support act behind you.

"That is why McLaren and Ferrari were always strong. I'm sorry, that is no longer possible and they are suffering as a result."

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[Baldy]

Not liking the news and rumors about the MP4-26.

[kgoings]

Not liking the news and rumors about the MP4-26.

I second that! Reading how they use a different designer every year had me scratching my head. Ron needs to come back as Team Principle

[Baldy]

I second that! Reading how they use a different designer every year had me scratching my head. Ron needs to come back as Team Principle

I agree about the different designer every year. Don't get why they would do that.

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I agree about the different designer every year. Don't get why they would do that.

Yeah, it seems as though McLaren are lost since Adrian Newey left the team. Nobody will or can ever replace or find a replacement for A.N

They should stick to the one guy (Just like their drivers) and have them develop the car as well as their own skills as a designer to the one team. Sure, this way you may not design a winning car straight off, but one can 'tweak' their skill/design.

Bring back Ron Dennis also!

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Vettel and Webber bury the hatchet

Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have put their bitter rivalry from last season behind them for the 2011 campaign.

"We're starting from zero. It's the same game, business as usual. He'll try to beat me and I'll try to beat him," said World Champion Vettel.

Vettel overtook Webber to take the World title in the final race last season with the Australian finishing third.

"Last year several times we had differing opinions. But we're not brothers, we don't have the same parents, so there is a strong chance we're not the same type of people. But even brothers sometimes can be very different," said Vettel.

Vettel set the fastest time in Wednesday's second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, but remained cautious about his team's chances for the new season which gets underway in the Australian Grand Prix on March 27.

"It's still difficult to say. Sometimes depending on the configurations we're going 8 or 9 seconds slower," explained Vettel.

"For this reason it's difficult to read what the other teams are doing. But this year our car has behaved rather well in terms of reliability as much as speed.

"We know what we did in 2010 but that doesn't help us this year. We have a lot of things to resolve, new parts. That will keep us busy," said Vettel, adding: "We'll really see in Melbourne where we are."

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Heidfeld: A lot more to do before the end

Nick Heidfeld concedes there is still "a lot more work to complete" before Lotus Renault conclude their pre-season testing on Friday.

Heidfeld and his team-mate Vitaly Petrov were both in action at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, finishing sixth and eighth on the timesheets respectively.

Petrov, though, managed just 24 laps as he encountered KERS problems during the morning session.

"Unfortunately we lost some time this morning because we had a problem with the KERS so we couldn't do the longs runs we had planned," said the Russian.

"For the rest of the morning we did some brake work and continued getting more data on the tyres."

Heidfeld's afternoon was a bit better with the German amassing 32 laps with a best time of 1:23.541.

"We spent the afternoon trying some different ideas with the set-up and we made quite a few improvements and learned some useful things," said the German.

"I ran on the medium and the soft tyres, and the car felt much better by the end of the day, but there is still a lot more work to complete before the last day of testing tomorrow."

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Massa: Barcelona upgrade a step forward

Although Felipe Massa finished ahead of Red Bull at Barcelona on Thursday, the Brazilian reckons the latter is still the team to beat.

For Ferrari's second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Massa put his upgraded 150° Italia through 132 laps as he tested the team's new upgraded package.

The package includes aerodynamic modifications as well as a new exhaust design, with the 29-year-old revealing that this is the car Ferrari will take to the Australian GP.

"It's better, just more downforce on the car, and the more downforce you have, the better, especially with these tyres that degrade quite a lot," was Massa's verdict.

"It was a big package. It works well. I think it will be more or less the package for the race.

"So now we're working hard for the next improvement, as we know how important that is during the Championship.

"But what we brought here was an improvement and the car is just better - better grip, better downforce."

And although he edged Red Bull's Mark Webber on Thursday, Massa says the reigning World Champions are the favourites to take this year's titles.

"First of all it's the team who won last year. And second, they are very quick here. Yesterday Sebastian did a very quick time. So I point to Red Bull."

Last season, Red Bull dominated qualifying and while Massa reckons the Scuderia have improved their pace over short-distance runs, he feels it race-pace where Ferrari can really match the Bulls.

"That was the case last year, but last year they had a very quick car so even if we improved more in qualifying compared to the race it was not easy to beat them.

"This year it's a little bit more difficult to know, because I saw some long runs from them - degrading as well, but it was quick even at the end.

"So I think it's very difficult to say now. We need to wait until we have everybody together at the same time with the same fuel, the same tyres."

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Webber tips Ferrari to come out 'strong'

Red Bull driver Mark Webber believes Ferrari are well placed to mount a strong challenge for honours in the 2011 season.

"I think Ferrari are strong," said Webber, after the third day of the final pre-season tests on Thursday.

"I think we're going okay and the rest is hard to say. I haven't even looked at the times, they're not even of interest, you just focus on your own thing."

Turning his attentions to the opening race of the season on March 27, Webber joked: "I think we'll be in the top eight in Melbourne."

He added: "The form is still very hard. I would not put my house on qualifying in Melbourne, I don't know who has the outright pace.

"I think we're going okay but it's impossible for me to know what the red guys (Ferrari) are doing. Race runs they are going OK, they look quick."

Webber finished third in last season's Drivers' Championship, 10 points behind runner-up Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and 14 points behind triumphant team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The Australian recorded the third quickest time in Thursday's session, 0.705s behind Sauber's Sergio Perez and 0.374s behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

"I'm ready for the first race and you always want a good run in your home race but I don't want to jinx things for myself," said Webber.

"In terms of team preparations it's the best we've had in terms of reliability and understanding the car but it's still a long, long way to go.

"All the departments have done a sensational job. You can never have it perfect but we could be in much worse shape in terms of reliablity.

"Hopefully we are not too far away from Ferrari to start with and we go from there."

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Schumi: Red Bull looking the team to beat

Michael Schumacher has written off his chances of starting the new Formula One season with a victory.

Schumacher's return to F1 last year was instantly forgettable and highly criticised after the 42-year-old failed to finish any race on the podium.

With Mercedes opting to start development on this year's car midway through last season, hopes were appreciably high they would hit the ground running.

But that has not been the case because, like McLaren, the team have been blighted by reliability issues and a lack of pace.

Unsurprising then that Schumacher is already resigned to fighting for position rather than wins when the season starts in Australia on March 27.

"We clearly know Red Bull are very strong and are the team you have to look at," said Schumacher, suggesting the World Champions are in the driving seat at present.

"I guess we're not quite in a position (to win), but then I wasn't expecting to be in this position right now.

"The season is long and there is a big question mark as to who is coming up behind (Red Bull), and I hope we play a sufficient role in that."

Again like McLaren, Schumacher can at least sense the team are heading in the right direction.

"We have made a lot of progress with the car, so I'm quite happy," said the German following his penultimate test run this pre-season on Thursday.

"Having concluded all our reliability work at the last test we're now concentrating on setting up the car, fine-tuning, understanding it down to the last detail.

"So I know where we are, and we are working very well. We are on the slope and on the progress curve like we want to be.

"Right now we are not concerned with our reliability. We have had some issues, but that is why you go testing, to get things sorted out, and that is what we have been doing."

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Alguersuari: We could see HRT overtake Ferrari

Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari believes the difference between fresh and worn Pirelli tyres could see the backmarkers overtaking the frontrunners.

It has been suggested that the speed disparity between new and old tyres could be as much as six seconds a lap.

"You could see Hispania running faster than Ferrari if they are on new tyres and Ferrari were on worn tyres," he is quoted as saying. "You could see Hispania overtake Ferrari."

The 20-year-old believes the smaller teams could take advantage of the 'massive degredation' by playing an aggressive strategy with their tyres.

"The rear tyres are very important," he added. "They degrade quicker. When you are driving you have to be very careful. Degradation on all tyres was massive.

"Getting the right strategy can be good for small teams by risking an aggressive strategy."

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Hamilton hits back at Brundle's comments

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at claims the McLaren MP4-26 is a 'mess' of a car - following comments from former driver, and now BBC commentator, Martin Brundle.

The 51-year-old claims the McLaren has a 'fundamental issue' whilst former team owner Eddie Jordan agreed, going as far as to say they needed a 'brand new car.'

"[it] didn't turn in. It couldn't get the power down. Lewis [Hamilton] looked absolutely at sea in the thing. Clearly they have a fundamental issue," said Brundle.

Hamilton disagrees, though he did admit it wasn't quick enough to challenge for the title. Yet.

"I wouldn't agree with what he says. Everyone is going to have opinions about it. They don't drive it so they don't know exactly how it is," he is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

"The car feels better than last year's car. They are very similar to drive in some ways. It is maybe not as good in some ways because we have lost downforce. I think it is something that we can work on. It isn't as fast as others are. But two years ago we were two or three seconds off the pace and now we are maybe a second.

"Do I believe I have a car to win the world championship at the moment? I don't. But that doesn't mean it won't become a world championship winning car," he added.

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Schumi: P1 W02 will be our Aus car

Michael Schumacher had no complaints with his upgraded W02, setting the fastest lap time in Friday's Barcelona test.

The seven-time World Champion clocked a 1:21.249 at the Spanish circuit, which was the fastest time seen at the track this year.

It was an encouraging performance from Schumacher, who confirmed that the W02 in action at Barcelona on Friday will be the W02 that his team takes to the season-opening Australian GP.

"We have been developing the car step-by-step this week with new parts arriving each day," the German revealed.

"So our focus today has been on understanding how to get the best from the car now that it is pretty much in its final configuration for the first time.

"The car has behaved as we expected and it's been a very productive day.

"We completed our programme and I should also be able to get some experience of the expected wet conditions tomorrow."

With the rain expected on Saturday, Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg put in a few hours in the dry on Friday.

And the younger German was not that far off his team-mate's pace, finishing 0.539s down, taking third place behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

"First of all, it's super that I was able to do some laps today, given the forecast for tomorrow," said Rosberg.

"It was a good few laps, and obviously now that we have most of the developments for the car, it was handling much better and I had a good feeling.

"So I'm pretty pleased with the situation and would like to thank the whole team for getting everything onto the car that we wanted. We've made good progress over the winter."

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Williams undecided on KERS for Aus GP

Sam Michael says Williams have yet to decide whether they will use KERS in Australia after experience several problems in testing.

Mid-way through Wednesday's running at Barcelona, the team was forced to take the KERS unit out of their car as it experienced an electrical problem.

"We had an electrical problem - not with the battery or the MGU (motor generator unit), but the equipment that goes between the two," the technical director told Autosport.

"That stuff has gone back to the factory to find out what caused it."

He added: "We had to do a douse procedure on it because we were not sure if it was the battery or not.

"What we did was flooded a battery that did not need to be flooded, but because of safety we had to do that as a precaution.

"As it turned out it wasn't anything to do with the battery, which was a very good sign as if it was a battery problem then I would be more worried. The battery is okay."

However, it remains to be seen whether the team can find a solution to the problem ahead of the Australian Grand Prix later this month.

"We will just get through the problems as quickly as we can. I don't have an answer to that. I know what part failed but I don't know why," he said.

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Button: Japan crisis puts F1 into perspective

Jenson Button endured an agonising day in and out of the car on Friday as he anxiously waited to hear from his model girlfriend in Tokyo.

The worst earthquake to hit Japan for 140 years, with a magnitude of 8.9 and sparking a massive tsunami, is expected to see a death toll of over 1,000 according to the Kyodo news agency.

It meant Button's final day of testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the new Formula One season effectively paled into insignificance for the 2009 World Champion.

As news of the devastation broke, Button found himself unable to contact girlfriend Jessica Michibata, who was doing a photoshoot in Japan's capital city when it was severely rocked by the quake.

It was only much later on in the day that Button finally learned the 26-year-old Japanese/Argentine was safe.

Asked if he had received news from Michibata before he got into the car, Button replied: "No, no. I couldn't speak to the missus, to Jessie, because the phone lines weren't working in Japan.

"So halfway through the day, the only way I could get in touch with her really was through Twitter. I found out that she was okay.

"She then sent me a text saying 'How's testing going?' It was like 'Honey, that's not really the most important thing at the moment. How are you? How are you feeling?'

"She's fine, very shaken. She was in Tokyo doing a photoshoot in a studio underground so it was pretty horrific. I think the whole of Tokyo was pretty shaken.

"Hopefully she's fast asleep now. I'll see her on Sunday evening or Monday in Australia."

Expressing his sympathies to the Japanese people caught up in the tragedy, Button added: "It (the earthquake) is something they are used to, but still it's the biggest they have ever had.

"It's pretty horrendous, devastating and it's bad for Tokyo, but really bad for Sendai. A tsunami there has wiped out most of it.

"It's horrific footage you'll probably see on TV, so my heart and thoughts go out to all of the people affected.

"Motorsport is one thing, but something like that happening is so much bigger than the problems we have here today."

As for those problems with his McLaren, Button spent a considerable amount of time looking on from the sidelines as an engine had to be changed, further underlining the reliability issues plaguing the team.

The 30-year-old eventually finished 13th of the 14 drivers on show, just over 4.3secs adrift of seven-times Champion Michael Schumacher in a beefed-up Mercedes complete with a raft of updates.

Button has yet to complete a single race distance in the new car, which he admits is far from ideal heading into the season, with the opening Australian Grand Prix a fortnight away.

Asked as to what the team could do, Button said: "The best job we possibly can. I don't know what that will be or the result out of it.

"But no, it hasn't been the best winter. A lot of it is down to mileage, so we haven't had time to really set up the car.

"I'm not going to lie. It's not the best way to go into the season, but there is no point getting negative about it and down at this point.

"We've got to pick ourselves up, be positive, sort the problems out and turn up in Melbourne, hopefully with a much more reliable car."

Convinced McLaren will crack the issues that have blighted testing, he added: "We've got to forget about where we stand at the moment compared to the others.

"We have to get our heads down and move this thing forward because this isn't where McLaren should be, or where McLaren will be for long because there's a great bunch of people here.

"We are all working as hard as we can to hopefully resolve some of the issues and turn up in Melbourne with an even stronger package."

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Merc upgrade shows pace at Barcelona

All through pre-season testing, Mercedes GP have promised their upgraded package will have pace - and that's exactly what it had at Barcelona on Friday.

New parts arrived for Mercedes GP's W02 late Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya and Michael Schumacher had the opportunity to test the revised car on Day Four of the final pre-season test.

The German, using the revised front wing and new turning vanes, clocked a 1:21.249 to set the pace ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Schumacher's lap time was also the fastest witnessed at Barcelona this year.

Alonso, meanwhile, spent his morning on qualifying style runs, which was when his set his 1:21.614, before switching to a race simulation in the afternoon. And once again, the Ferrari demonstrated both its pace and reliability with Spaniard amassing 141 laps.

Nico Rosberg was next in line as he took over for Schumacher in the afternoon. Although Rosberg was only expected to run on Saturday, the German was given a few hours late in the day as rain is expected at the Spanish circuit tomorrow.

Nick Heidfeld was fourth for Lotus Renault, although his running was cut short in the afternoon due to an undisclosed problem, while Rubens Barrichello was the final driver to get within a second of Schumacher's P1 time.

Kamui Kobayashi and Jaime Alguersuari were sixth and seventh with the latter saying "pre-season testing as reasonably positive for our team.

"We have learned a lot about the new parameters we have from this year's rules and obviously understanding the new Pirelli tyres has been an important element of these tests.

"It has been very different to the previous year, so now we start a new Championship in Melbourne, with a new philosophy. I think we have a good car, which shows potential. However, we still need to improve a lot and that will involve plenty of hard work in the coming weeks."

Sebastian Vettel completed the top eight but managed just 63 laps and brought out the red flags late in the day when he stopped at the exit of the pit lane.

Once again it was not a good day for McLaren with Jenson Button finishing down in 13th place, 4.588s off the pace. He amassed just 57 laps due to an engine change.

Five teams, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and Hispania Racing, will continue at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday in what will be the final day of pre-season testing.

Times

01. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.249 67 laps

02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.614 + 0.365 141 laps

03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.788 + 0.539 22 laps

04. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m22.073 + 0.824 67 laps

05. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m22.233 + 0.984 89 laps

06. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.315 + 1.066 98 laps

07. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1m22.675 + 1.426 72 laps

08. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m22.933 + 1.684 64 laps

09. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1m23.437 + 2.188 138 laps

10. Paul di Resta Force India 1m23.653 + 2.404 42 laps

11. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.921 + 2.672 26 laps

12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m24.108 + 2.859 11 laps

13. Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.837 + 4.588 57 laps

14. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1m27.375 + 6.126 46 laps