Jenson Button is looking on the bright side despite losing out in the Italian Grand Prix to eventual winner Fernando Alonso on Sunday.
World champion denied win but still happy with title boost
Jenson Button is looking on the bright side despite losing out in the Italian Grand Prix to eventual winner Fernando Alonso on Sunday.
Starting second on the grid, Button got the drop on the Ferrari driver and led the first 36 laps of the race before Alonso got back ahead during the pit stops.
Even so, after team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the opening lap at Monza, the defending champion's own title hopes were boosted.
With five races remaining, Button stands fourth on 165 points and is now just 22 behind Red Bull's Mark Webber, who reclaimed the lead from Hamilton after finishing sixth.
Button said: "We had a good weekend and to come away with second is a great result. We wanted points and we have done well for our championship hopes heading out of Europe, so it is good."
The McLaren and Ferrari drivers traded fastest laps as they edged clear of the field whilst staying in close company prior to the pit stops.
Grip
Button came in on lap 37 of the 53-lap race but was forced to relinquish his place to Alonso after the Spaniard stopped one lap later.
"I don't think we quite had the pace today compared to Ferrari. But it was all going pretty well, I was pretty happy with the car. And then we decided to pit one lap earlier than Fernando," he explained.
"When I exited the pits, I had very little grip on the prime tyre. I had lots of shuddering, which means the tyre just isn't working.
"So, that was a little bit disappointing - to find myself in that position and then see Fernando coming out of the pits in front of me after his pit stop.
"But we had a great weekend overall and to come away with a second is a good result. Obviously you want the top step, but...it is better to think about the points won."
Unlike his team-mate, Button elected to run McLaren's f-duct - which gives a straightline speed boost - together with a higher downforce aerodynamic package at the high-speed venue.
The combination gave him an advantage over Hamilton - who chose simply to run with low downforce - in qualifying, although Button said the pressure was on trying to keep Alonso behind.
"The start was good. Obviously Fernando came over quite a bit at the start, but I had enough room to squeeze up the inside at turn one," he said.
"And then the rest of the first lap was pretty tough, because of the straightline speed that these guys (Ferrari) have compared to me - because I'm running higher downforce.
"It made it very tricky to hold off the challenges. So I spent most of the race looking in my mirrors, making sure Fernando wasn't close enough.
"It's so difficult around here to know whether the car is right up behind you or not. I was actually watching the TV screens to see where he was behind me!
"So that was a lot of pressure."
Wrong call
Button admitted that pitting ahead of Alonso and Massa - who stopped on lap 39 - was not the right decision in the end.
"I think everything is an option, in a race like that," he said.
"You have to keep yours eyes open to every situation. We obviously thought it was the right decision to come in a lap earlier than these two - but looking now I don't think it was the right call.
"I don't feel it worked for us today. We got a good result out of it and hopefully we will be as strong as this in Singapore."
