Button: Jury still out on new rules

F1 faced a barrage of criticism after a boring season opener in Bahrain, with several team principals suggesting that urgent rule changes should be considered to spice up the racing.

And although the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix were more entertaining, Button still thinks there are serious questions about how much the refuelling ban and narrower front tyres are working.

When asked by AUTOSPORT about whether he thought the new 2010 regulations had been a success, he said: "I think qualifying is. Low fuel, I think that is great, we can really see who is quickest, it is like another race in itself.

"But the [narrower] tyre - I am not so sure. I think we have taken away mechanical grip which is never a great thing, especially when you are following someone because you lose the downforce and haven't got as much mechanical grip. But then again we have seen quite a bit of overtaking in the last two races.

"I think we have to keep an eye on it, and the next couple of races will tell us the full story. The first race was not an exciting race, a lot of people said that and I agree with that, but then we had Melbourne and Malaysia where there was a lot more overtaking."

Speaking about the impact of the refuelling ban, Button said: "No refuelling, for me I love running with low fuel. The cars move around more and you can do more with it.

"Heavy fuel is not so much fun but it is what we have...it doesn't make it as exciting. It probably is better for my style but most of the time we will be doing one stop, and my style help looks after my tyres.

"The last two races I have done almost 50 laps on a set of tyres which is more than anyone. It does work but you have to be careful with it not to lose too much because it can be the wrong strategy."

He added: "We will deal with whatever regulation changes they throw at us, but whether it is better for racing or not I don't know. We will know later in the season but it is still too early to say."

Button's comments about the regulations not working have also come on the back of mounting concerns in China that the racing is being further limited by the teams clamping down on any racing between their own drivers through strategy decisions.

With it appearing teams are imposing orders to give pit priority to their leading drivers, it effectively means races are even more being decided on the run down to the first corner.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner told the BBC in China that his outfit's policy was to favour whichever driver was ahead.

"The priority within our team will always go the leader," he said. "That is why in Melbourne, [Mark] Webber was left out for another lap than Seb [Vettel], while Seb got the optimum lap, as he was the race leader.

"The same in Malaysia. Mark, if he had got to the first corner first and led the race, he would have had that same benefit. It is the fairest and most straightforward thing to do."

When asked if he felt this was frustrating for both the second placed driver and fans, Horner said: "We can't stop them both on the same lap and, if we allow the two race crews to start racing each other, then they will start arguing over who is going to pit."