The final phase of the Formula One season starts tomorrow in Spain but Jenson Button and the Brawn team have been spending the week looking back with a mix of increasing fondness and desperation on the first seven races.
Tomorrow’s race could prove to be a tipping point. If Button fails in the sunshine of Valencia, then the slide is likely to continue through the remaining six races where conditions will generally be less favourable.
Button also has the difficulty of dealing with a resurgent McLaren team as Lewis Hamilton looks to pick up where he left off with victory in Hungary. McLaren and Ferrari are the only teams to employ the kinetic energy recover system (Kers) that gives a 6.5sec performance boost every lap. “It’s a very unusual situation,” said Button. “You have the Red Bulls and us fighting for the championship but we have McLaren and Ferrari around us on the grid and Kers gives them a very good opportunity to get past us at the start.
“You need a quick car, but strategy has been key in a few races. This boost button means that if they start behind us and get ahead then it screws your strategy straight away. The best way round it is just to be quicker than everyone. That would solve all our problems.” Guardian.co.uk
Hamilton’s improvement and optimism is bad news for championship-leading fellow-Briton Jenson Button of Brawn GP and his Red Bull rivals as they see the title race thrown wide open.
Hamilton said: “It’s great to be getting back to business after the break and I’m still buzzing from the win in Hungary.
His team boss Martin Whitmarsh is also optimistic that after a desultory start to the year, McLaren will be back with plenty to prove in the second half of the season.
Whitmarsh said: “It’s very important that we are able to maintain the winning momentum into this weekend’s race. Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain.
“The whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend.” AFP
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