It’s hardly Monte Carlo or bust but Button won’t be coasting
NOT motivated. Not looking forward to it. Going through the motions. Just a selection of the barbs levelled at Jenson Button’s one-off return at tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix. With Fernando Alonso competing in the Indianapolis 500, Button is back in the McLaren for one race, just six months after retiring from the sport. ‘I don’t think he’s especially motivated or looking forward to it,’ said Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle. ‘He’s got nothing to prove and nothing to lose. He’ll get stuck in but it’s not going to enhance his c.v.’ Two-time Monaco winner Mark Webber said: ‘This one-off comeback is a pretty weird scenario. He’s in an uncompetitive car, so he has to go through the motions. ‘If it was anywhere else, McLaren could just have put my mum in the car, it wouldn’t really matter.’ But this is Monaco and Button is right at home. A resident of the principality for 17 years, Button won this race on his way to the 2009 world championship. The odds of the 37-year-old repeating that are as big as 1,000-1 with some bookmakers, with McLaren propping up the constructors’ championship standings due to the lacklustre performance of their Honda engines. But the tight and twisting two miles of Tarmac here are the least power dependent of the season, which is not lost on Button. ‘If you’re going to be in one race this year, this is the race you want because it’ll be McLaren’s strongest,’ he said. ‘Of course I’m nervous. It would be wrong not to be. I want to do the best job I can and I want to enjoy myself. ‘A whole season of Formula One drains you and over the last couple of years I didn’t really enjoy my racing as much as I should have done, but that isn’t the case right now. ‘I love this circuit, I’m excited to see what I can do.’ Regulation changes mean this year’s wider and faster cars are a far cry from the one Button stepped out of in November. With that in mind, Brundle said he was confused by Button’s decision not to take part in a test in Bahrain the week after his return was revealed last month. ‘Bahrain is so different to here,’ explained Button. ‘I’ve spent time with the team, spent time in the simulator and I’ve read the notes. ‘The only thing that you don’t get used to is the size of these cars but you can’t test that in Bahrain. I’m totally prepared.’ Initial signs were encouraging, with Button 12th fastest in Thursday practice. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will resume their title fight tomorrow. The pair have two wins apiece and a third victory for Hamilton here would see him overtake the German at the top of the drivers’ standings.