Jenson Button says McLaren will not be upset to miss Q3 in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix as it expects to be quick enough for points on race day.
Button finished FP2 in 12th, two places behind teammate Fernando Alonso, on a circuit which punished Honda's power unit in 2015. With McLaren looking competitive in the last few races Button does not think the team's result will hinge on where it lines up on the grid.
"The goal is to score points," Button said. "If we can get into Q3 that's nice, if we're just outside Q3 I don't think we'll be upset. We have a lot more choice, Fernando started 12th in the last race and finished fifth, and I was 19th and finished ninth. So we're not too worried about being just outside the top ten.
"I think it might be a little bit more difficult [to make Q3] than the last few races but it's not such a bad think being just outside the top ten because you get choice of strategy, but obviously we'll try our best to get in the top ten."
The McLarens looked off the pace in FP1 -- with neither in the top 15 -- but Button says this was because the team was working on bits for the final two races and 2017.
"We started off doing a lot of work for later on this year and also next year's car so FP1 wasn't really any use for this weekend, but then FP2 there was a lot more testing, which is good. We finally found something that is a bit more interesting and hopefully something we can work with tomorrow."