Sunday: Button puts McLaren on the podium
Author of several overtakes and a solid race, Jenson Button once again delivered a podium finish for McLaren. He finishes ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who started in 2nd position on the grid. Both men thus allow their team to score big points this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton – 4th
« It was a good race for me. I finished in the points so I can’t complain. When the safety car came into the pits, Michael was on the outside and I wasn’t looking in my mirrors. Suddenly, the guys took off and I couldn’t catch up to Sebastian.
I think we were a bit slow this afternoon. It was therefore difficult for me to battle with Michael, who was faster on the straight, even with my DRS activated! I fought well and I’m happy to finish ahead of him at the end.
I am already looking forward to coming back here next year because the weather, the tifosi, the support of the fans, and the atmosphere create wonderful conditions for racing at Monza.
It is going to be very difficult to catch up to Sebastian for the title this season. But we will work hard with the team to win a few races by the end of the year!
Jenson Button – 2nd
« It is a great satisfaction for me to have fought during the race and to finish on the podium. However, I had a small clutch problem at the start, which cost me dearly as I dropped to 6th place… At the restart, I wasn’t able to keep Mark behind me, his top speed was so high. I was in 7th position at that moment. This allowed the leaders to take the lead, and I lost a few more seconds when Mark and Felipe tangled.
Then, I was able to overtake Lewis and Michael. I then finished the race in 2nd position, safe from Fernando.
I want to thank the team for the great work done this weekend. In two weeks in Singapore, I hope we won’t have any issues so we can all fight together for victory.
Martin Withmarsh – Director McLaren Group
This afternoon, our cars were the fastest of all: Lewis achieved the best lap, and Jenson the second. Unfortunately, our drivers didn’t get good enough starts. They then spent a large part of the race behind Schumacher’s Mercedes, equipped with great top speed!
In the meantime, Sebastian has detached himself from the group, which is very frustrating for the team, as we had the right pace since Friday. We could have fought for the victory.
But that’s racing… The start was fatal for us even though we were fast and well-placed on the grid. We still took 30 points, including a podium, and we now have a 71-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.
We will soon be flying to Singapore, which will be a difficult race. But we will work hard to make progress and do our best to bring back as many points as possible by the end of the season.
