Button says drivers doing "crazy" things with tyres

The weekend at Spa-Francorchamps has been dominated by talk of tyres, with a combination of high minimum pressures and warmer-than-expected temperatures causing excessive degradation.

It has set up the prospect of an exciting race on Sunday, but Button has said that what he has experienced this weekend is unprecedented.

"The pressures are unbelievably high and you can see that by how slow we drive around on the way to the line," explained Button.

"Most cars are not going full throttle at all on the way to their qualifying laps: they are not braking, they are not pushing the tyre at all. They start their lap and they get to Turn 1 and the tyres work.

"It is amazing what we have to do to get these tyres in the working window. If you push on the out-lap then they are done by Turn 3, blistering and overheating.

"What we have to do is crazy. I've never had to do this before in my F1 career."

Although F1 teams had been expecting cooler weather this weekend, Button has said that the main cause of the problems drivers have faced is that the pressures are so high.

"It is the pressures – obviously it not helped by the temperature but we go to hot countries and I think Pirelli know that," he said. "It is a shame that are so high with the pressures because we are in a position at the moment with the tyre where you cannot push the car.

"You are just rolling around the whole time with the tyre, so it is a shame. Hopefully with the new tyres in F1 next year that won't be the case because it is not a nice feeling at the moment."

Button is one of the drivers who will start the race on supersoft tyres – which are expected to last only a handful of laps before needing to be changed.

"The tyres are tricky but I think the supersoft and the soft are very similar in terms of damage on the tyre," he said. "A lot of people are struggling with blistering. It will be a tiny bit cooler tomorrow but not that much cooler. It will be tough for everyone.

"I think we are in a little bit of better shape than most people, especially the cars that are right around me, so both Williams."

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