Jenson Button is aiming to simply “go out and enjoy” the inaugural Korean Grand Prix as he tries to make up ground in the race for the title.
The McLaren driver has not been able to match the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull in recent races and is now 31 points adrift of championship leader Mark Webber.
To haul himself back into title contention, Button is likely to have to end a victory drought that stretches back to the fourth race of the season in China.
And now the 30-year-old feels that the pressure is off and he will have nothing to lose in Korea’s maiden Formula One race on Sunday.
“I’m just going to go out and enjoy it and see what happens,” said Button.
Deficit
“It’s not the easiest position for me to be in, 30 points behind, but we are going to give it all we can. We’ve three races to go and 75 points to play for, so it is still possible.
“But we have to hope we can fight on a level playing field with the Red Bull, and that’s our aim.”
However, the defending champion realises that McLaren’s pace needs to improve if they are to challenge for wins again and is hoping that the upgrades that were rushed onto the car for Japan last time out will come good.
Button added: “We’ve some good updates and hopefully fingers crossed it will make enough of a difference, and if it does we’re still in the hunt.
“Some of the upgrades we had in Japan we knew we had to put them on the car because we want to fight for the championship.
Early
“But I think we put them on the car a little early because they were scheduled for here.
“But we have them on the car now and hopefully they’re going to work correctly – I’m sure they are – so I’m looking forward to driving the car around here.”
Button thinks the rollercoaster nature of the season, where no team or driver has been able to establish a significant advantage, will continue in the final three grands prix.
“For all of us it’s been quite up and down. We’ve all had some pretty poor events and some pretty good events as well,” Button said.
“It’s made the championship very exciting, so I’m looking forward to the next three races. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty mixed up.
“If you look at the last few races Ferrari and Red Bull have had the legs on us. But I’m hoping in these next three we’ll be closer and that will make for an exciting fight to the end of the season.”
