Button desperate for F1 return

Jenson Button believes he can improve on last year’s third place at the Nurburgring when he returns to racing for this weekend’s European Grand Prix.

The Englishman has been forced to watch the last two races from the sidelines after his BAR-Honda team were handed a ban for weight irregularities.

Button is back this weekend and he intends on returning in style as he looks for BAR’s first points of a troubled campaign.

He said: “It goes without saying how much we racing drivers look forward to our next grand prix, but it’s been five weeks since I last raced at Imola and I’m very excited about getting back in the car this weekend.

“The whole team is incredibly upbeat and determined. I’ve been so impressed with the way they’ve handled this situation and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve at the Nurburgring.

“The most frustrating thing about the past few weeks has been knowing that we have a strong car with some very impressive new developments just sitting in the factory when we could have been out there challenging for podiums, if not wins.

“That’s behind us now though. What matters is going forward and demonstrating why we belong at the top.

“I finished on the podium here last year in third position and I know we can be stronger than that this time.

“The car will be strong here, no question. I’m just counting down the hours now until free practice on Friday.”

The Imola disqualification and subsequent two-race ban coincided with Gil de Ferran’s arrival as sporting director and, although he had no part in the weight problem, the Brazilian is looking forward to finally getting on with his job.

He said: “We have spent the last few weeks waiting somewhat impatiently for this weekend and, although we would rather have been racing, all efforts went into turning this hiatus into an opportunity for the team to improve its performance.

“We continued testing and are confident of a good showing at the Nurburgring, just as we were heading into Barcelona.

“Since we last raced in Imola there have been several enhancements to our aerodynamic performance, which bode well for the coming races.

“As we haven’t had the opportunity to measure up against the competition, we look forward to doing so at the Nurburgring.”

BAR’s absence has been overshadowed by McLaren’s resurgence in Spain and Monaco.

Kimi Raikkonen has taken consecutive wins to move into world title contention as Renault’s Fernando Alonso has taken a back seat.

Alonso was fortunate to claim fourth at Monaco last weekend when tyre problems ruined his race but he approaches the next round confident he can return to the podium.

He said: “Last year, we finished fourth and fifth there so there is no reason why we should not be fighting for the podium.

“The car had a brand new aero package in Monaco, and I don’t think we really saw the benefits of it there – at a more normal circuit, like Nurburgring, we definitely will. It will be important for us to be back fighting for the top positions.

“Renault have not been on the podium there, and I think we have a good shot at it this year.”