Jenson Button Q&A

"Very. I wouldn't be talking about it otherwise. We need to be positive. Obviously, it's great to have a positive atmosphere in the team, but if there was no possibility of podiums then we wouldn't be saying it. I'm looking forward to a good year, but it's really going to come upon us because we've been working non-stop. We need to make it happen, which is going to happen. We need to give it our all, which I think we can do."



"Yeah, everything's positive. I think we ended the season well in 2003, but again, that's not good enough and we need to be a lot better than that this year. I think we're going to be good over the whole season. We've been working hard with the interim car, which has been going smoothly, and using our testing mileage as well as we can. And now we've got the new car."



"Obviously, it's not just about the driver, it's down to the equipment. I'm one of those drivers who've had to fight his way through Formula 1 a little bit more than some others have had to. But I think you gain so much more experience that way. You know, I'm a much stronger driver and everything else. I think 2004 is an important year for the whole team as well as myself. I hope it will be a good one, but we'll wait and see."



"We do need to move forward, and to do that we need to be challenging for podiums. That's where we should be in 2004. And we need to be in contention for wins, otherwise we haven't really made a step forward."



"The year you're in is always the most important one. A lot of people would say that 2002 or 2003 were my most important years because 2001 was such a bad year but it's going to be, hopefully, a good year.



"No, not really, because I know what's been going on behind the scenes. We've made a good jump forward. Throughout the season the car was very strong. We knew when we were building the interim car that normally they don't work that well, but we knew it would because it had a lighter engine and a lighter gearbox and a few other changes. And it's seemed to work very well. I think it's going to be the same step forward this year, I hope.



"Definitely, we need to move ahead. We finished fourth and sixth in the final race, but we were over 30s behind the leader. Also, we claimed fifth in the constructors' championship. Fifth in the championship was great for 2003, but we were a lot of points behind Renault. We want to challenge Williams, Ferrari and McLaren for the world championship.

"I think there's five teams that are going to be very strong this year. I think it's going to be the same three teams as in 2003, and I think Renault are going to be stronger, as well as ourselves. I think it's going to be an exciting year in Formula 1, and I think the races are going to be quite exciting in 2004.



"A lot. I definitely had weaknesses in 2003, and I've worked on them a lot over the winter, which I'm very happy about. Also, I've been at the factory a lot more. You know, every little thing I've been working on, from the fitness to just being at the factory, is just about making everything perfect and doing everything I can.



"It's very important to have a good atmosphere, and it's very important that everyone has the same goals, really. I've always been in a team when it's not been too competitive and the second year's a lot better. I think this year is going to be a good step forward, and then we'll see. It's very difficult to say if we're going to be winning in 2005 yet, but that would be great, and I think we need to concentrate on that.



"Well, it's their opinion, it's people's opinion."



"Not at all. I don't understand why Webber, but I understand Alonso and I understand Kimi, because they've both won grand prix. They're both with top teams. They've been lucky enough to come in with a team that's very strong, when others guys haven't, one being myself. I've had an up or down few seasons in Formula 1, but it's all behind me, and I think it's the best way to go. You know, you get so much experience working with bad cars that can't win races, that when you finally do work towards one it's a great feeling."



"I'd be happy. It's not about proving anything to anyone, but it would be good for the team, because of the amount of work that everyone's put in. With all the work the team's been putting in we're going to be very strong, and if we get onto the podium it'll be a step in the right direction."