Australian GP: Jenson Button not surprised McLaren is on back row

The 2009 F1 world champion and his team-mate Kevin Magnussen have endured a difficult weekend in Melbourne, and things did not improve in qualifying.

With Manor not running and McLaren slower than every other team in 17th and 18th, the squad ended up with its worst qualifying performance since the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix - when mixed weather conditions left Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate row of the grid.

Following a tough pre-season testing programme, Button confessed that he had been braced for a hard time in Australia.

"You have to look at winter testing," he said. "We ran low fuel in winter testing and super-soft tyres and we were not quick.

"So we knew it was going to be difficult, so there was no real shock when we were on the back."

Magnussen was similarly unsurprised, but like Button added that the car itself does not feel terrible to drive.

"I don't think it was difficult, we're not fast enough," he said. "The car feels good. The aerodynamics feel good. It's better than last year.

"Honda is doing a great job, they are just behind as they came in after everyone else.

"The morale in the team is good."

RACE DISTANCE A CHALLENGE

Button says that the race is likely to be even more difficult than qualifying for McLaren.

He revealed that the longest distance he has done so far with the new Honda-powered car is 12 laps.

"It is going to be a big learning day for us," he said. "Would I rather be in a car that is maximised and just in the points, or would I rather be where we are?

"I would rather be where we are - knowing there is a lot to come and finetuning that car, or moulding that car, into something that can be very good in the future.

"It will be a tough day tomorrow, a big learning curve - the longest run we have done is 12 laps.

"It is all new, but hopefully we can react well."