Button admits he "took a lot of risks" as he starts third at the Austrian Grand Prix
Monday 4 July 2016 13:04, UK
Jenson Button says his qualifying success for the Austrian GP has given his McLaren team "a kick up the bum - including myself!"
Button qualified in fifth, but thanks to grid penalties for both Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, he moves up to third for Sunday's race in Spielberg.
Speaking to Sky F1 immediately after qualifying, the 2009 world champion was clearly thrilled with the result: "I always love those conditions, can we have that every race?
"We called it right at the end - on the wets we were quick and on the dries we weren't bad either.
"I was just trying to save it for the last lap and I was lucky there were no yellow flags. I took a lot of risks but it worked out today. A lot of the time it hasn't, but it did today, so I'll take it when I can."
The McLaren driver's highest finish in qualifying this season before this weekend has been 12th and he has been out-qualified by team-mate Fernando Alonso on all but one occasion so far. He was also out-qualified by reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne when he stood in for Alonso in Bahrain.
"To be P5 with where we are right now is awesome. I think it gives everyone a good little kick up the bum, including myself, and hopefully this helps us in the future with our attitude to racing and feeling that we can fight a bit further up."
Asked why he is so good in wet conditions, Button suggested it was partly down to experience and also the way he drives.
"I think some of it is the way I drive, it's just different," he said.
"There are conditions when I can't get the best out of the car and there are conditions when I can because of the driving style I have. Corner by corner I feel the grip I have when I enter the corner, instead of from memory from the last lap."
Button's best race result so far this year has been ninth in Spain and Monaco and he knows it won't be easy in this Sunday's race as well.
"It's going to be a tough day tomorrow. I think nobody really understands what the tyres are going to give us, but we are in a good position.
"We're not quick enough to fight for a win and I'm not pessimistic, just realistic. But I will give it my heart and soul to get the best out of the car."
Meanwhile, Alonso will start from 14th on the grid, after failing to make it into the final session of qualifying. The Spaniard later complained that his car had been fitted with an old set of tyres prior to the rain starting to fall during Q2.
