Button expects to avoid 2012 dip with 'fairer' tyres | 2013 F1 season

Jenson Button says Pirelli's new tyres for 2013 are easier to understand and are less likely to make car set-up a lottery.

'This year is more difficult in terms of graining than last year but in terms of understanding the tyre it's a lot easier,' he told media in Barcelona on Thursday.

'You can get it in its working range and you know by lap three or four it's going to start graining. So compared to last season it's more of a fair playing field.

'Because last year there were teams who could get the tyres working, not because they knew why, just their cars worked with those tyres. Whereas other teams really had to fight to get the tyres to work. They were really on a knife's edge the tyres.

'And it took us sort of six or seven months to get a handle on the tyres. Whereas these tyres are different. They're much easier to understand, easier to get into their working range. This afternoon, it's been cold, [but] you could even to get the tyres working on lap one which was something we couldn't do last winter.'

Button said that gives him confidence he can avoid the lapse in form he suffered early in the 2012 season when he was unable to make the tyres work.

'I hope so,' he said when asked. 'Today doesn't really show that but I think the issues with the tyre at the moment is a pretty normal issue with the tyre: for example it's too soft or the working range is wrong for this circuit and the winter testing.'

'They can't go and design tyres for winter testing and design tyres for the races. All the teams would be up in arms, they're not the correct tyres for racing with. It's very difficult for Pirelli to get tyres that work for both conditions.

'We will have tyres that degrade more than last year, that was always the plan. But it seems like a normal tyre that works in a normal way. It's not on a knife's edge in terms of the temperature range and that was a big issue last year.

'If you got the tyre working it was a massive jump in performance and something that a lot of teams struggled with and I definitely struggled with that, Canada and Monaco time.

'We don't feel that we have that and I don't think any of the teams feel they have that issue it's more just graining. That's a normal tyre issue.'

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