Brazil GP: “A fantastic race” for Button and McLaren

Jenson Button really enjoyed his Brazilian Grand Prix but it was not easy, especially in managing the soft and medium tires supplied by Pirelli for this round of the 2014 championship.

« Given that the race was very complicated today, I really pushed hard in my first stint with the medium tires to keep the gap with Valtteri. This means I destroyed my rear tires – but I managed that, and if I could use the DRS, I could create a gap with the guys behind me. It was worth it, and it worked, but it means I had to slow down in the next stint to save my tires, » said Button.

The Brit still managed to finish 4th, which pleases him: « It went well until my last stop – there was a communication issue regarding the stop, which meant I had to do an extra lap. That might have cost us a chance at the podium. It’s a shame we couldn’t hold off Felipe, but it was a fantastic race. »

Eric Boullier, sporting director of the British team, praised the performance of the 2009 world champion: « Jenson delivered a superb race, managing his tire wear with all the expertise that made him famous. The result was an excellent 4th place – which, even if it’s not what McLaren is aiming for, is a welcome reward for all the hard work of our engineers, who transformed the car’s performance from a very low level on Friday to a very respectable race pace today. »

Kevin Magnussen’s race didn’t go as well, with the Dane finishing in 9th place: « It wasn’t a great race for me, which is disappointing. I had a lot of degradation with my tires – I tried my best to take care of them but it didn’t seem possible today. I tried to prevent people from overtaking me, but guys like Fernando [Alonso] and Nico [Hülkenberg] just had more pace than me, so it wasn’t possible. »