United States GP: Severe tire degradation frustrates Button and McLaren F1

Jenson Button did not expect to leave Austin empty-handed, yet that is the case. The McLaren driver had long hoped to finish in the points, but that wasn’t to be.

The Briton notably suffered from an unusual ailment at the wheel of his MP4-29, degradation issues: « I went backward today. The only fun moment of the afternoon was my battle with Fernando. Apart from that, it was quite dull on track. It’s unusual for our car to suffer from tire degradation like today, and I had problems particularly with the rear. »

The Woking team was not really celebrating at the United States Grand Prix because although Magnussen salvaged a few points, it’s not what he hoped for: « The 8th place is not a fantastic result, but to be honest, we couldn’t get more out of the car this afternoon. »

Same feeling of a result that is hard to be satisfied with for Eric Boullier, the sporting director of the McLaren F1 team: « We are very disappointed to leave Austin having scored only 4 points in the constructors’ championship, thanks to Kevin’s 8th place. »

But the Frenchman remains confident for the end of the season and the next two races of the year, in Brazil then Abu Dhabi, especially regarding the constructors’ championship: After this afternoon, we are in 5th place in the constructors’ championship, 24 points ahead of Force India and 49 points behind Ferrari. From there, we will head to São Paulo, Brazil, where we eagerly await the challenge of racing on one of the most beautiful circuits in Formula 1: Interlagos. There, and in Abu Dhabi two weeks later, we will aim to consolidate our lead in the constructors’ championship over Force India, and we haven’t given up on the idea of pipping Ferrari to 4th place. It won’t be easy, but you can count on us to do our best to make it happen.