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JENSON BUTTON EYES THREE-POINT TURNAROUND

Jenson Button is hoping superstition can pay off as he tackles his 200th grand prix in Hungary

Thursday July 28,2011

By Gary Chappell

EVERYTHING happens in threes and, after a trio of mistakes, Jenson Button is hoping superstition can pay off as he tackles his 200th grand prix in Hungary – although he will need to forget his old man’s birthday in order to win.

Jenson Button, 31, has admitted to being “bloody annoyed” after a hydraulics fault ended his race in Germany last Sunday. It capped a miserable three races for Button, after a problem using the power boosting system KERS in Valencia was followed by a sloppy Silverstone, when his team failed to secure his front right wheel during a pit stop.

“Weird, isn’t it?” he said. “Hungary was my first win [in 2006]. I have a lot of good memories from there and I am going to have my 200th grand prix there. It is also a beautiful city. I really like Budapest.

“My missus is coming as well and it was my father’s birthday. Great things happen in threes. I just hope they are not the only three great things that happen. Damn, forget my old man’s birthday; I don’t care about that one.”

Button was joking of course, but he is desperate for at least a run of good luck. His anguish at a string of bad races was compounded when team-mate Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix in such emphatic fashion, having qualified 1.1secs faster. Button, whose race ended on lap 36, said: “When I got out of the car I was bloody annoyed, as you would be. We had a bit of a hydraulic leak on Friday as well with a different part, so it is frustrating that we are having so many failures at the moment.

“You always want to win and beat your team-mate, fight your team-mate. But he did a much better job than I did. He won the race, so there is a very positive attitude in the team and that definitely lifts you.”

It is a lift Button will be clinging on to after so many errors.

At 31, he would be forgiven for thinking about throwing in the towel. But he claims that is not on the agenda.

He said: “The race in Germany wasn’t a good one for me at all, but I still had a lot of fun. I had lots of good overtaking moves and I really enjoyed it. Even on a bad day you can take positives from it. If you can do that, then you are enjoying the sport still and that is why I am going to continue for many more years.

“I was thinking last Friday, for example, if I did four more years in Formula One I would be 35 and I would retire from racing. I mean, what the hell am I going to do at 35?

“I had three days off last week and because I have hurt my knee [on a jet-ski prior to Silverstone], I couldn’t train. My missus wasn’t around, so I was sat there twiddling my thumbs. I was so excited about the Tour de France and you wouldn’t believe how excited I was to get to the German Grand Prix.

“That is why it is good to have a rest before a race, because you get so bored. You really cannot wait to get to a grand prix and get in the car.”

Hungry to do so in fact, to prove that, after those mistakes, everything does indeed come in threes.

If Jenson wins, John Button would no doubt happily forgive his son’s comments about that birthday party.

Credit: Express (www.express.co.uk)