Question: Jenson, briefly the lead was yours. You got past Lewis for a few turns. Talk us through that. It was a wonderful battle.
Jenson Button: Yeah, I got the run down to turn 12 down on the outside and I had to have a go really. It was down the outside. We were wheel to wheel for about five corners, so it was good fun and then when Lewis got back past at turn one as before I was into fuel save mode as well as we were a little bit worried as maybe the race was a lot quicker than we thought it would be racing with the Red Bulls, so we had to save a little bit of fuel in the end but that got us to the end which is good.
Question: Is second for you a pleasing result given your starting position?
Jenson Button: Yeah, I mean the pace was very good in the race. Us four were up front and very close for pretty much the whole race. I don’t know what happened. I am sure we will hear in a minute what happened between Mark and Sebastian. But it opened the door for us and we were one two. The pace of the car was good. As soon as the Red Bulls were out of the way we picked up a bit of pace and we were a couple of tenths in front. It was a good fun race. Also with Michael (Schumacher) on the first lap he got me at the start but I was able to get him into turn 12 and make the pass there. A fun race and nice to be battling up the front where the car should be. I have to say great job to all the team. They have done a fantastic job improving this car. We are so much closer to the Red Bulls now and three weeks ago you wouldn’t have imagined we’d be battling with them, so all credit goes to the McLaren Mercedes team.
Question: Jenson, in the early stages you seemed to be content to watch the three ahead of you. A second behind or a bit more perhaps. Was that the case?
Jenson Button: Well, first of all I got a good start. Lewis obviously didn’t, so I was up behind Lewis. I didn’t think Michael was going to come past but on braking he got down the outside as on braking I couldn’t brake where I wanted to. I was able to get him back into turn 12 which was good fun. The three in front had a good pace. I knew I could do that pace, so I just sat back a few car lengths trying to conserve tyres to see if it made any difference. A few times I pushed and tried to catch up and then just dropped back. Just before the stops I kicked in a little bit, caught up to Vettel, he pitted and I didn’t and I stayed out for a couple of laps. I thought I was going to jump him but that wasn’t the case. The pace of our car was very good and it is great to be battling with the Red Bulls. So many times this year we have seen them disappear into the distance. It is great to be fighting with them. I had a little battle with Lewis in the end. We were both told to save fuel but it is always difficult to know how much. When Lewis finally got back past me I was told to keep saving. I think it got a bit critical towards the end of the race as we pushed very hard at the start.
Question: You don’t think that was a ruse to stop you battling?
Jenson Button: I don’t know. For about four or five laps beforehand they were saying you have to save fuel. They didn’t put a lap time on it. They just said you have got to save a bit of fuel. That was quite early in the race I was told to do that, probably about lap 30. I don’t think they expected the pace to be so fast but it was good pace, so that’s why we were told to save fuel I think.
Question: So you are happy with second knowing you had been in first?
Jenson Button: Yeah, starting fourth on the grid. I am very happy in the car. I felt that I did a very good job and it was fun to battle at the end with Lewis. We got a one-two, so I think the team should be very happy with our result this weekend. I think we need to say a big thank you to the team. They have brought these improvements to the car this race. Three weeks ago you wouldn’t say we would be able to challenge the Red Bulls, so very happy with what they have brought here. They have pushed very hard and it is working, so that has put a big smile on my face. Got to say a big thanks to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.
Question: Jenson, the moment that you got past Lewis seemed to coincide with a bit of a shower. Was that a factor?
Jenson Button: I don’t know. It didn’t feel like that there was less grip. To me it felt very similar. Lewis got a bad run out of (turn) eight for whatever reason and that’s where the time difference was and I was able to catch him on the back straight into (turn) twelve. But no, I don’t think the weather made any difference really, it wasn’t raining enough. We had a lot of warnings that it was going to rain, but it was never enough really.
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