Button bewildered by 12th place
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Brawn GP driver had produced promising displays in practice and looked on the pace in Q1 on Saturday as he set the second fastest time behind Lewis Hamilton, but it all fell apart in Q2 as the 29-year-old finished 12th.
"All weekend we have been competitive and I felt very good in Q1 but then suddenly we were struggling a bit more in Q2," said Button. "It is difficult to know the reasons for that but being back in 12th is disappointing."
The blow was softened only slightly by the fact that team-mate Rubens Barrichello - who trails Button by 14 points in the drivers' championship - qualified just two places ahead in 10th.
The poor performance of the Brawn duo gives Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel the chance to make up vital ground in the race for the world championship, however, as the German is 26 points behind Button and starts second on the grid alongside Hamilton on pole. Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber also gave himself the opportunity to maintain his slim hopes of the world title by securing fourth on the grid.
"The Red Bulls are at the front and obviously they still have a chance to challenge us in the championship so we have made it difficult for ourselves," said Button.
"It has been a strange qualifying for us as we had very good pace all weekend and it is strange not to be quick. This is a circuit where we thought we would be very quick but in qualifying we have not shown that.
"Rubens is just ahead of me because of his gearbox change. There is still a lot we can do but it is frustrating to be so far back."
Barrichello qualified fifth but was dropped to 10th for changing his gearbox, although he remains optimistic.
"It was an eventful qualifying session for me but I'm still feeling positive with starting from 10th position on the grid," he said. "Considering everything that happened, I feel that it's a pretty good result."
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