Button Missing Third Car

Jenson Button said in Melbourne on Friday that his BAR-Honda team's second-placed Championship finish last year could seriously affect their chances of fighting at the front this season.

The British team benefited hugely from test driver Anthony Davidson's work on Fridays with the third car throughout last season but are allowed just two cars this year ­ while rivals will McLaren benefit from running a third car.

"It will affect things, definitely," said Button, who watched McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa finish second fastest and then fastest in the two season-opening practice sessions.

"It would help having a third driver like McLaren have but there's no use getting into it because we haven't got one. We just need to do the best job we possibly can."

Button believes having a third driver could be even more of an advantage this year than it was last season because of the restriction on engine life brought in in the new regulations.

"The problem is that we've got to have an engine for two races so you are limited on laps," he said. "We would like to do more laps than we can but with the laps we've done today I think we've done quite a lot."