Jenson Button: “It’s never pleasant for a driver when the brakes don’t respond;

Although everything started well at the beginning of the race for the British driver and his pace seemed good, at the start of the 4th lap he was overtaken by two, then quickly by three drivers. McLaren No. 22 suffered a hydraulic brake system failure, and he stated over the radio to his team: “The brake pedal goes all the way to the stop.”

Forced to drive slowly on the track, he drops down the rankings. Meanwhile, he talks with his team to figure out what to do to solve the problem and ends up pitting. He declares after the race that “the problem resolved itself,” but by that point, he was already relegated to the back of the pack.

Barely back on track, the race direction announces a penalty for Button and McLaren for exchanging information to resolve a problem on the car on the track. Button must make another pass through the pit lane.

The damage is done, and the Briton sees his impressive performance from the previous day ruined by a technical issue and radio exchange regulations that continue to cause frustration among both drivers and team officials. The final outcome is Jenson Button’s retirement, as he returns to the pits for the last time at the end of the race due to an oil leak issue, making him the only driver to withdraw; all this happens ten years after his victory that was the first of his career, here on the Hungarian circuit.

During an interview with the media at the end of the race, the topic is brought up again, and Button cannot hide his disappointment and misunderstanding about this FIA regulation: “It’s never pleasant for a driver when the brakes fail. A driver should not be penalized when facing an issue that compromises their safety,” he states, defending himself for having communicated with his team for a safety concern. Indeed, losing a braking system on a circuit seriously endangers the driver’s life, as evidenced by the incident involving McLaren’s reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne in SuperFormula two weeks ago at the Fuji Speedway. “Not very fun when your brakes give out at 300km/h,” he had posted with a touch of humor on his Twitter account.

Moreover, by the time the race management’s sanction was announced, Jenson Button was already in last place. Therefore, without really challenging this decision, which follows established rules, we can nevertheless discuss the leniency of the stewards towards the Briton and McLaren, who may have exhausted their quota of goodwill for the weekend by allowing Nico Rosberg to keep his pole position obtained under double yellow flags, which was quickly contested by Christian Horner, Red Bull’s sporting director, and questioned by Lewis Hamilton during the post-race press conference.