Posts tagged Button
Button wins Chinese GP in a thrilling McLaren 1-2
Apr 18th
Jensen enjoying his 2nd win of the season. Photo: EPA
Jensen button won a thrilling Chinese Gran Prix and Hamilton provided McLaren with their first 1-2 finish of the season.
The Drama started early when Alonso jumped the start and was later penalised. It wasn’t long before the rain hit and most of the top teams were quick to react by opting to switch to intermediate tyres. This soon proved to be the wrong decision
For Jensen it is his second win of the season and smart strategy in changeable weather conditions again proved to be the key to winning. Button chosing his tyres wisely, opted to stay out on slicks in light rain. It was the right choice, the rain was only short lived for the time being and all those teams who dashed in for inters were quickly forced to pit again to put slicks back on the cars.
This decission was the turning point of the race for many drivers. It was what handed Button the advantage and it was also a decission to change to inters which ruled out the chance of RedBull claiming a podium position. Jensen’s smooth driving style again became crutial in the later stages of the race where he was forced to look after the intermediate tyres to maintain his lead over Hamilton. It was a classy drive and a smart drive from Button.
Nico Rosberg ran wide on slicks later in the race which gifted P1 to Jensen. Had it not been for this incident there was every chanee Nico could have scored his first GrandPrix victory and the first for the ‘modern’ Mercedes team. Nico Rosberg then lost P2 to hamilton in the pit stop, having a slow in lap combined with Lewis doing a few well timed quick laps, the German was relegated to 3rd.
Sebastian and Mark made their way up from P9 and P10 in the later stages of the race, however Vettel was unable to pass Kubica to claim 5th position due to his tyre wear. Tyres were even more of an issue for Mark who lost a place to Petrov in the dying stages due to there being no tread left at all on the intermediate tyres. Mark had to settle for 8th position.
With Jensen now top of the table and Nico Rosberg 2nd in the standings it has thrown the championship predictions out the window. Not many bookmakers predicted the table to look the way it is currently.
“This win is very special” said Button at the post race press conference. Button ‘s win also hands McLaren the lead in the constructors championship and with 11 points now separating him from his team-mate, it has been a very important morale boost for Jensen who many felt would be racing in the shadow of Hamilton at McLaren.
The race Steward had a busy day with several incidents needing investigation. The first obviously was a drive-through for Fernando jumping the start, however it was a scrap between Hamilton and Vettel on the entry then also the exit to the pits which raised most eyebrows. Lewis Hamilton was released from his box, however wheel spin saw him exit into the path of Sebastian Vettel. Both drivers were side by side down the pitlane with Hamilton even running over other teams air gun hoses before finally darting in behind Vettel as they exited the pits.
Further controversy happened in the late stages of the race when Button bunched the pack up eady for a post-safety car restart which nearly caused a mass pile up, forces some driver to take avoiding action onto the grass. The cars were forced to slow so much that no doubt some driver had to engage their clutch. The restart went all bad for Webber who was forced off by Hamilton who ran wide defending his position with Vettel. Under new regulations you can pass on the restart from pitlane entry.
If Bernie wanted to make Formula1 more exciting, then he has succeded by charming the rain gods on a Sunday. Changeable weather conditions during the race proving to be the missing ingredient in the sport.
The final race standings from China are below:
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h44:42.163 2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1.530 3. Rosberg Mercedes + 9.484 4. Alonso Ferrari + 11.869 5. Kubica Renault + 22.213 6. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 33.310 7. Petrov Renault + 47.600 8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 52.172 9. Massa Ferrari + 57.796 10. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:01.749 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.874 12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:03.665 13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.416 14. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 16. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps
Hamilton and Button take the covers off the MP4-25
Jan 30th
2008 World champion Lewis Hamilton and 2009 World champion Jensen button pulled back the covers on McLarens 2010 Formula1 challenger the MP4-25 today at the Vodafone (the teams main sponsor) headquarters in Newbury.
Jensen button admitted he hadn’t had a chance to really look at the new car and couldn’t wait to step off that stage and inspect it more closely. Besides testing the 2010 car in McLarens simulator, he has had next to no contact with the car in the metal.
The most obvious change, besides the narrow front wheels and longer wheel base which will be a trait of every 2010 challenger, is that the the MP4-25 has a dramatic shark fin or dorsal fin running from the top airbox and roll over bar back to the rear spoiler. The nose of the McLaren is also similar to the 2009 RedBull, just like Ferrari’s F10 which was revealed yesterday.
Lewis Hamilton said that the team had been pushing like crazy to get on the podium last year and that same push has driven them to produce a radical new design for the 2010 car…”We’ve been pushing like crazy to find the performance and the result is something that looks very special and very uncompromising.” he stated.
Team principal, Martin Whitmarsh was far from humble when he said that the MP4-25 was the most developed car McLaren had ever produced. He said that “Our goal is clear, we aim to win”.
The team clearly plan on taking the title fight to Ferrari, with Italian news sources today reporting that the 2010 title will be a battle between Alonso and Hamilton, riding on the back of the Ferrari F10 launch hype.
The tone at McLaren is that of harmony and team work. Button and Hamilton didn’t come across at all as bitter rivals, but quite the opposite, both drivers praising each other and sticking up for each other when the questions from the press gallery got a little below the belt.
Lewis Hamilton was diplomatic when he said “Both Jenson and I are world champions, and we both want to add to the team’s incredible winning legacy,” he went on to say: “I think a strong driver line-up will be very important this year as there are a lot of very competitive teams and drivers – and the stronger we can be, the better chance we’ll have of winning races. We all understand that.”
It is important to race as a team rather then having two drivers who are bitter rivals trying to beat each other race in and race out, that is because racing this way is high risk and as a result it can cost you points and cost your team the contructors title. The theme of todays reveal was that Jensen and Lewis are both comited to winning McLaren the 2010 contructors title.
