Jenson Button has been given the all-clear to race in Sunday’s German Grand Prix after he was forced to hospital at the end of second practice at the Hockenheimring.
Button required medical intervention after some carbon fibre got stuck in his eye.
The 2009 World Champion went to a nearby hospital near Mannheim due to an irritation which he suffered in practice.
“I was driving down the pit straight when I got something in my eye. It wasn’t stuck in my eye, but it was a foreign body, which the hospital washed out and removed. It scratched my eye, so I’ve been given some eyedrops – but all is good. I don’t know what it was – maybe a piece of carbon dust, which has happened to me before.”
Button believes McLaren’s aim for the weekend is to finish behind F1’s top three teams – Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
“The session was okay – the car didn’t feel too bad at all – but I had to stop early because of the problem. The aim for the remainder of the weekend is to be up there behind the top three teams.”
Button finished the day in eighth whilst McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso was in the top 10 in both session – showing the team’s competitiveness this weekend, at a circuit which many expected not to suit McLaren.
“We felt competitive straight away in the first session – more than in the second, where we lost some performance. But we might need to go back on some set-up changes and find a way to improve the car for tomorrow.
“For this weekend, we need to be realistic: there are three teams that are a little bit quicker than everyone else, then, behind them, there’s a close fight. If we want to beat our direct competitors, we need to get everything right – but that’s likely to prove a little more difficult than it did in Hungary.
“Still, I’d hope and expect that we can score points on Sunday.”
