Button forced out of race from points-scoring position
Thursday 7 April 2016 17:17, UK
A frustrated Jenson Button has described his retirement from the Bahrain GP as "painful" and his warned his McLaren team they have to fix their reliability woes.
While Stoffel Vandoorne, deputising for the injured Fernando Alonso, scored a point on his F1 debut after crossing the line in 10th, an irate Button ended the race as a spectator in the McLaren garage alongside the Spaniard after suffering a power failure on his car.
To compound the 2009 world champion's frustration, Button was running ahead of Vandoorne in the points when his car was struck by a crippling failure.
McLaren boss Eric Boullier believes Button would have finished in seventh had he been able to complete the race.
"I was cruising behind the two cars in front, we were going to try something a little bit different," Button told Sky F1. "Looking at where those cars finished, in fifth and sixth, it's painful.
"You've got to capitalise on retirements but we didn't have the reliability to do that today. It's bad luck, but it's got to stop.
"It's a real shame because this weekend I think we've made good progress. I think we could have pulled home some good points today."
Vandoorne, by contrast, was overjoyed with his successful day's work. His point for 10th is the only score McLaren have taken from the opening two races of 2016.
"Since the beginning of the weekend I've felt comfortable," said the young Belgian. "I just tried not to make mistakes. To come away with one point is a bonus. I came in without any expectations so to come away with one point is fantastic."
After being ruled unfit to race after fracturing ribs during his crash in Australia, Alonso says he is "99 per cent certain" he will return for the Chinese GP.
