GreenBkk.com Jenson Button | 3rd Place finish secures 2nd in the Championship

3rd Place finish secures 2nd in the Championship

28.11.2011

“I couldn’t really get the soft tyre working around here – we had massive degradation on each set – and that prompted the decision to run two sets of Primes in my final two stints. My pace on the Prime was great – and using two sets really meant I could find a good balance and work out where the grip was.

“Earlier in the race, it was disappointing to be passed by Fernando [Alonso]. Out of Turn Five, I saw lots of debris on the circuit, and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t want to drive over it, and I couldn’t pull to the left because Fernando was there, so I had to back out of it and fall behind. It was a pretty easy move for Fernando to make after that.

“But the Prime was working really well and that helped me chase Fernando down in the final stint and pass him out of Turn Three. Ideally, I wanted to get him into Turn One, because it’s more fun to pass someone without using DRS, but I set him up and got him out of Turn Three after getting a good run along the straight.

“We gave it everything today – and a podium is a great way to end the year. I’ve had 12 podiums from this season’s 19 Grands Prix – and I didn’t finish two of them due to reliability issues. All in all, it’s been a good, consistent season for us.

“There are a lot of positives to take away from this year. We’ll have a strong winter and come out fighting from the first race. We’ve just got to start the season a bit more strongly, that’s all, and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do. We want to make it hard for Red Bull in 2012.

“Finally, I want to say a big thank-you to the whole team – we’ve really grown together this year. I really feel like I’m part of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes family now: there’s an awful lot of passion in our organisation, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

JENSON BUTTON

MP4-26A-03

Started: 3rd

Finished: 3rd

Fastest lap: 1m15.580s (+0.256s, 2nd)

Pitstops: Three: laps 15, 31 and 52 (Op-Op-Pr-Pr)

2011 points: 270 (2nd)

Credit: Jenson Button (www.jensonbutton.com)