Button gets hot and steamy

Renault's Jenson Button was one of the victims of the first corner pile-up in Australia and although neither Renault driver finished the race, the Englishman thinks the R202 has proven well in testing and just needs a chance to show its paces. Team mate Jarno Trulli was running second after the initial shunt that took out half the grid but spun off due to hitting an oil slick.

Button, who has been training in Port Douglas, Australia in preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend, is eager to score points: "We know from testing that the car is reliable, even though we didn't manage to complete a full race distance in Melbourne," he said. "I'm confident our position relative to the rest of the grid will not change, and hope to have a trouble-free qualifying session before a good result in the race."

The much touted Malaysian climate and the way it affects drivers was raised by Button: "The hot and steamy conditions in Malaysia can prove difficult for the drivers and they can actually feel the stifling humid air flowing into their race helmets as they drive down the straights on the Sepang circuit."

Meanwhile team mate Trulli is equally optimistic for decent results in Malaysia, if not podium finishes. "I hope we will perform as we did in qualifying in Australia," he said. "That was pretty representative of where we are. I do not expect a podium in Malaysia, but I am sure reliability will count in the race. I was encouraged by running up front in Melbourne, but it was as much due to circumstances as pure performance and it is important to take each race as it comes. I am still working to get used to the team and build relationships. Let's see how we do in qualifying."