Saturday, August 20, 2011

GreenBkk.com Formula 1 | Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton look to pressure Red Bull

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton look to pressure Red Bull

Page last updated at 13:33 GMT, Friday, 19 August 2011 14:33 UK


Button (left) and Hamilton have each won a race in the last two events

Jenson Button is hoping he and McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton can keep the pressure on Red Bull in next weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

McLaren have shown good pace of late, with Hamilton and Button taking a victory apiece in the last two races.

Button said: "Our aim will be to put pressure on the championship frontrunners, particularly Red Bull."

Hamilton added: "We go to Spa in a pretty good place. We've won the last two races and the car feels strong."

Hamilton currently lies third in the drivers' championship, 88 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel, with Button a further 12 points adrift.

However, after Red Bull won six of the first eight races courtesy of Vettel, McLaren have made significant gains on frontrunners Red Bull in terms of both qualifying and race pace.

Hamilton was just one tenth of a second off pole in Germany and went on to secure a superb dominant victory. The 2008 world champion also led much of the Hungarian Grand Prix before poor race strategy dropped him to fourth.

Button, meanwhile, bounced back from two retirements to win his second race of the season with a masterful drive at the Hungaroring before the summer vacation.

While Hamilton used the break to head to the United States to spend some time with his singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, Jenson Button whisked his model girlfriend Jessica Michibata to Hawaii.

Now, the duo are back feeling refreshed ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on 28 August, with Hamilton confident the team's latest aerodynamic updates will prove a success at Spa.

"We've worked hard to improve the set-up, so it's really inspiring confidence at the moment, which means you can push it that little bit further, particularly in qualifying," added Hamilton.

"Of course, the weekend is likely to be affected by the weather, which is always somewhat unpredictable at Spa.

"I'd prefer a dry race, but, to be honest, I'll take any track condition. I just can't wait to get back out in my car."

Button added: "It felt great to go into the summer break off the back of the win in Hungary.

2011 DRIVERS' STANDINGS

  • Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull - 234
  • Mark Webber, Red Bull, - 149
  • Lewis Hamilton, McLaren - 146
  • Fernando Alonso, Ferrari - 145
  • Jenson Button, McLaren - 134

"That was a race I think we could just as well have won in the dry as in the damp - which will be worth bearing in mind in Spa, as it'll probably be wet and dry and everything in between at some point during the weekend.

"Our car definitely feels really driveable right now, so I don't think this weekend's tyre compound selection will affect us too much.

"I don't think the DRS [overtaking aid] will be as critical here as it's been at some of the other circuits.

"I'm still not certain where it will be deployed, but there's always been lots of opportunities to use the slipstream up the hill out of Eau Rouge to pass into Les Combes."

Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)

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