Button approached the season differently according to Eric Boullier

On the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend, Jenson Button admitted during the drivers' press conference that the event held at the Yas Marina Circuit was very similar to his last in a racing seat. F1 race.

A quasi-announcement of retirement for the 2009 World Champion, who will be replaced in 2017 by the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren. Although Button has a contract to race in 2018, the former driver Williams did not seem to have the idea of ​​continuing beyond this campaign.

Jenson Button will however still be involved within Woking, to provide the link between the drivers and the technical team on questions surrounding the future car 2017, but also to represent McLaren.

“Jenson will be perfect in this role, recognizes Eric Boullier, McLaren competition director. Elegant and handsome, knowing his subject, available and smiling, he knows how to share his emotions and defend the interests of a brand. In terms of feedback, it was useful to engineers.

This year, I think Jenson suffered a drop in pressure, a bout of moral fatigue. We do not approach our 17th year of F1 in a situation which is not that of a potential winner but in the context of a major technical project, a program under construction, with the same aggressiveness and the same motivation . The case Alonso is apart, because it is he who chose this challenge. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents on the Yas Marina Circuit, in AUTO issue 2091hebdo, available now in digital version, and on newsstands.