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F1 British GP: Qualifying slump handicaps Button’s charge

Jenson Button says his underwhelming qualifying curtailed any genuine chance of breaking into the points at his home race but it didn't stop him from relishing the battle.

After suffering a faulty rear wing in Q1 of qualifying which ultimately forced him into an early exit to start from 17th, the McLaren driver knew a huge slice of good fortune and smart strategy would be his only realistic shot at breaking into the top ten.

Despite his best efforts Button could only climb up to 12th but accepted he paid the penalty for trouble in qualifying.

"In our position you need to qualify in the top ten because we have the pace to make ground and stay in the top ten in the races," Button said. "We need to get everything out of the car in qualifying, and the try to hold on in the race.

"Today it was not very enjoyable to drive but it was great to see the fans, a British victory as well, so I'm sure they're very happy."

Button was also teased the opportunity of grabbing a point in the closing stages when Vettel was given a five-second time penalty on to his final race time for forcing Felipe Massa off the circuit, meaning if he finished inside five seconds of the Ferrari driver he would leapfrog him in the results.

As a result, Button was given permission to push his McLaren to the edge with an outside shot of catching the Ferrari but Vettel was able to maintain a comfortable gap to the chequered flag.

"I loved it, the team told me to go on maximum attack and stay within five seconds of Vettel, because of his penalty, but I think they forgot he was driving a Ferrari," he said. "I tried but no chance. We knew about his penalty, but he knew he needed of five seconds at the end of the race so he pulled away."

Zdroj: crash.net