Jenson Button still believes in the title
Jenson Button has been experiencing a severe lack of performance for a few races now. Indeed, with only 2 points collected in the last 4 Grand Prix, the British driver missed his European return and is increasingly distancing himself from the battle at the front.
Winner of the first Grand Prix in Australia, Jenson Button is currently experiencing a slump. With rather inconsistent results since the beginning of the season (only 3 finishes in the points in 7 races), the Englishman has been struggling at the back of the grid since the Bahrain Grand Prix, both in races and qualifying, and suffers in comparison to his teammate who is fighting at the front.
The situation did not improve much in Canada as Button achieved a disappointing 16th place, despite having won at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit last year, and Lewis Hamilton took the victory this weekend.
The McLaren driver said he was quite frustrated with this result: « Nothing went right in this Grand Prix… We needed to accumulate track time on Friday, but it was not possible due to various technical issues: we missed some crucial information that could have helped with the qualifying and race setups. This had an impact on the rest of the weekend, and no improvements could work. Every time I get in the car, I lack grip after two laps, and in Canada, I suffered from severe tire degradation. »
Jenson Button is now 8th in the drivers’ standings behind Romain Grosjean, trailing his teammate who has taken the championship lead by 43 points. However, he does not admit defeat because, for him, the season is far from over: « This season is quite unpredictable, with 7 winners for 7 different races. Everyone can take advantage of the situation. Even if the results of the last races have not met our expectations, there are 13 races left to run, and I am certain that McLaren will be very strong and that I can improve. »
The 2009 world champion hopes to bounce back as soon as the upcoming race in Valencia, Spain, for the European Grand Prix: « After Canada, we returned to the factory and analyzed the problems. Usually, I can easily figure out what’s wrong with the car’s behavior, but at the moment it’s more difficult and therefore very frustrating for me. We’ve questioned everything and learned a lot from it, and maybe even caught up on the setback in Montreal. I hope that in Valencia, a street circuit where I feel comfortable, I can get back to the front of the grid and re-enter the title race », concluded the 32-year-old driver.
