Button expects Abu Dhabi to suit McLaren

Jenson Button says he expects the Yas Marina Circuit to suit McLaren's MP4-26 in next weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Having finished second to world champion Sebastian Vettel in India, Button admitted that the car just didn't have the pace to challenge Red Bull in the race. In Abu Dhabi, however, Button is expecting to be even more competitive, and that he is "very optimistic" McLaren will be able to challenge for victory.

"Our car should suit this circuit so I'm very optimistic," Button said. "We saw at the last grand prix that even though we didn't have the ultimate speed to catch and pass Sebastian, we made him work hard for the win. Tactically, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ran a first-class race: I got all the right calls from the pit wall and the pit crew did a fantastic job. The championship may not be at stake any more but we're still aiming to win races and put on a tremendous show."

With last year's season finale at Yas Marina being criticised for having little overtaking, Button expects the DRS to make the race more entertaining.

"It's usually been quite difficult to overtake here, especially last year, but I think that DRS will change all that. The back straight is one of the longest in Formula 1 so I expect to see a lot of action there. It would be great to see the new rules turn this circuit into a place where overtaking is more common and more exciting."