Button up for Sochi

JENSON Button is eager to savour the challenge of Formula One’s latest addition to the calendar.

The Sochi Autodrom, which winds its way around the site used for the Winter Olympics earlier this year, hosts this weekend’s inaugural Russian Grand Prix.

McLaren star Button said: “It’s always interesting to visit new circuits.

“It’s fun to get out and explore the contours of the track, the kerbs, the run- offs, the camber.

“They’re all the things you don’t really fully experience until you’re on- site and able to see the track for the very first time. That’ll be my priority on Thursday.”

Assessing the venue from what he has seen so far via a simulator, Button added: “From what I’ve seen of the place, it’s sort of a mix between the tracks we raced on in Valencia and Korea.

“There are plenty of long, fast straights hemmed in by concrete walls and high barriers, and a selection of medium- speed corners that seem to have been designed to test the abilities of a car.

“As with all these new venues, they only really begin to unlock themselves once you get out on the track for the first time.

“I’ve lost none of my enthusiasm for going to new places, so I’ll be keen to get out there on Friday and get a feel for the place.”

Formula One has to consider bringing in enclosed cockpits to improve driver safety following the serious accident involving Jules Bianchi, says Claire Williams, deputy team principal of the Williams F1 team.

Autosport magazine claimed F1’ s top teams rejected a move by the FIA last year to introduce closed cockpits because they felt the structures would make cars look ugly. Bianchi remains in a ‘’ critical but stable’’ condition after he suffered a traumatic brain injury during a crash in last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

H