Button promises 'different story'

The Englishman suffered a disappointing year at the outfit in its former guise as Benetton in 2001. But he believes that everything is in place to regain his career momentum that was built up in his debut season with Williams.

"Testing has gone to plan and the car has been very reliable," Button said. "I am very confident in both the R202 and in my relationship with the engineers. Everyone understands each other well and I hope to be competitive for myself, the team and the guys back at the factory."

Last year in Melbourne, Benetton struggled with Renault's revolutionary new engine, which took time to come good. "Australia gave us a tough start because we had done very little testing with the new engine and it took us a while to find reliability," said Button. "We had new key personnel, new relationships to build and it was not the best race of the season for me or the team. But 2002 is a different story."

His new team-mate Jarno Trulli is also optimistic, but feels he will need time to get used to Renault. "I am pretty optimistic," said the Italian. "We have a good engine, good reliability and a well-balanced car, and once I have completed three or four races I should feel fully comfortable with the R202 and have developed even better communication within the team."