Jenson Button wary of Lotus threat in Hungary

Although his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in both practice sessions, with Button placing second and sixth respectively, the 2009 world champion predicted a number of rival outfits, chief among them Lotus, will be more competitive than their Friday times suggest.

"I think the Lotus is quick," Button said. "I don't think Kimi [Raikkonen] really got a lap together but he was still second in FP2.

"I think on a hotter track you really see the Lotuses come to the front, which has been the case all year - if you look at Bahrain that's where they were very strong."

Button felt his car's balance in the first practice session was good, although changes in the second session turned out to not be beneficial

"This afternoon we tried a few new things with the car which I don't think worked, so we're going to go back on them," he said.

"We should be up there, but I don't think just because we were quick today we'll definitely be on the front row. I think we're all going to be very close in both qualifying and the race - it's all about finding the perfect balance, and I had that in FP1."

Despite the Hungaroring's reputation as a track where overtaking is difficult, Button does not expect Sunday's race to be processional.

"There are worse circuits for overtaking," he said. "I still think we'll see people overtaking, especially in the DRS zone down the pit straight.

"Qualifying is important, but it isn't the end of it."