Jenson Button says he is “definitely not the perfect driver” as he reflects on his career in F1 so far ahead of his 250th grand prix.

Button will hit the milestone at this weekend’s race in Bahrain, having made his grand prix debut for Williams back in 2000. Ahead of the race weekend, Button gave his thoughts on the experience he has gained so far in F1 and said he was always motivated by the changing regulations and desire to improve.

“I’ve learned a lot along the way, as you can imagine, racing for 14 years in Formula One,” Button said. “The thing that surprises me is how quickly it goes by. Fifty races ago I was in Hungary, celebrating my 200th grand prix, which I won by the way! So, it’s amazing how time flies. You really do have to enjoy every moment of it as much as you can.

“For me, being 14 years in the sport, I still feel like I have more to learn. I’m definitely not the perfect driver yet, and I never will be, but there is always still more to learn. That’s something, for me, that’s exciting about the sport. New regulations obviously are changing the sport quite a lot, especially with these new regulations, and again, you always have more to learn. For me that’s what keeps the sport exciting and that’s what has kept me on my toes for the last 14 years and hopefully for many more.”

Looking ahead to his chances in Bahrain, Button said he expects McLaren to be more competitive than it was in Malaysia due to the track layout and cooler temperatures.

“Well, we have a good engine, which helps us here. There isn’t as much high speed as Malaysia and Malaysia was also hot. So hot and high-speed corners are tricky for us. It’s an area we know we’ve got to work on, high-speed downforce. So, here it should be quite a bit better.

“Fuel consumption is pretty tricky here though, I think for everyone, some more than others for some reason. There’s a lot of work needed before the race to get the right balance for a night race – our first night race here, which should be pretty interesting.”