Mexican GP: Jenson Button surprised by McLaren-Honda's pace
Jenson Button says the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team's top-10 pace in Friday practice for the Mexican Grand Prix was unexpected

The 2009 world champion is running Honda's latest specification engine for the first time this weekend.
It was fitted as part of a scheduled double change and as a result, he will receive a 50-place grid penalty for Sunday's race.
The Briton completed very little running in first practice after suffering a high voltage sensor failure and then spent the opening 45 minutes of the second session in the garage because of a deployment issue.
But he eventually hit the track, completing 25 laps and setting the ninth fastest time, 1.578 seconds adrift of pacesetter Nico Rosberg, and one place behind team-mate Fernando Alonso.
"It wasn't bad," said Button. "I think it was a little bit unexpected.
"We have [tactical] engine penalties here because we thought it would be a really tough race for us - and it still will be. But slightly more positive.
"It's a little bit like Sochi and the low grip of Austin as well, and we seem to work OK in those conditions."
While Button was pleased with how the 'phase four' power unit performed, he conceded there was still plenty more work to do to maximise the package.
"It's louder," he said. "In terms of power, I don't know, we're still a long way off.
"We're 16km/h off the quick cars so still a lot of work to do.
"But it's progress and at the moment it's still running reliably, which is good."
Alonso will also take a grid penalty, after McLaren fitted his 11th internal combustion unit of the season, and therefore believes qualifying pace will be irrelevant.
"In qualifying, unfortunately whatever position we get we will start last with the penalties," he said.
"So we will concentrate tomorrow on the race pace and tyre management.
"We saw a lot of degradation today, more than expected, so we need to put some attention on it.
"We keep making progress, the car keeps improving with the new parts, and now we need to see what we can do in the race."

Ferrari defends using its F1 rules veto over engine prices
Mexican GP Friday F1 press conference full transcript

Latest news
Double F1 race winner Jean Pierre Jabouille has died
Former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille has died on Thursday at age 80, French media have reported.
IMSA champion Jarvis to contest full ELMS season with United Autosports
Reigning IMSA Sportscar Championship title-winner Oliver Jarvis will contest the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports alongside Formula 2 convert Marino Sato, in addition to the World Endurance Championship.
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.