MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Jenson Button insists the prospect of McLaren's first points of 2017 does not add extra pressure on his return to Formula One at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.
Button will stand in for Fernando Alonso at Monaco as the two-time champion takes part in this weekend's Indy 500. His one-off return comes at a circuit that is expected to suit McLaren's car and mask its Honda engine's lack of power, but Button played down any extra pressure on him to perform in Alonso's absence.
"Definitely not," he said. "I'm very relaxed and very excited. It's interesting coming back for one grand prix, but it being Monaco it's very special. I've won here before, I've lived here for 17 years and I've had some really good experiences. But I don't feel any pressure at all.
"I will obviously get in the car and do the best job I can, that's what I'm here to do, and everything I do in life is the same. You want to be competitive, get the best out of yourself and the team and equipment you are working with. That hasn't changed.
"The car seemed to be working well in qualifying [in Spain] and Fernando did a good job, so I think it proves the car is working well. I drove it in the simulator and I drove that upgrade and it was definitely an improvement and there are more improvements here this year as well. If it's all straightforward this weekend we should be reasonably competitive."
Button had the opportunity to test this year's McLaren following the Bahrain Grand Prix, but turned it down and completed all of his race preparation on the team's simulator in Woking.
"Preparations have been good apart from I haven't driven the car, so it's not perfect," he added. "The option was to do half a day in Bahrain, which for me was absolutely useless to do because it's a completely different type of circuit. I said to the team that it would be best if I did a few days in the simulator, and obviously we drivers love the simulator so I was raring to go. I spent a lot of time in the simulator getting a feel for it."
Asked if he hesitated in accepting McLaren's request for him to drive this weekend, Button added: "I asked my dogs, they said we can be without you for a week or so. My girlfriend said you've got to do what you've got to do, and I said yes. And it was my decision. I could have said no if I wanted to, as we all can. Nobody wants a racing driver that doesn't want to drive. Really excited. Obviously preparation could have been better if I had the opportunity to test the car in a proper test, but it's not the way Formula One works.
"You've got to be ready. I think fitness-wise, that's not an issue. I think the neck is going to be a bit sore after Thursday, even around Monaco. But we've got Friday off, so a little bit of rest. 'Mikey Muscles' is back for a one-off race, my physio, so he's going to be rubbing me once again. It's an exciting challenge, and that's what it's all about, it's what we're here for. Really looking forward to it."