Jenson Button’s 2012 Formula 1 season started and finished with victories in Australia and Brazil respectively, but in between things didn’t go quite as he had hoped.
While there were some great moments, notably a dominant win at Spa, tyre and set-up struggles mean that he was never really in the world championship fight.
Along the way, he had plenty to reflect on, whether it be McLaren’s form on track or the interest in his team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s future…
Jenson Button: 2012 in quotes
“I was surprised. I would have thought we would have had more issues under braking because the downforce that the top teams were producing from the blown diffuser last year was staggering and to lose that much, you would think that you would struggle, and the difference between on throttle and off throttle you think would be massive but it is not such an issue.”
Being pleasantly surprised after the first day of winter testing
“It was very special. Starting the year with a win is important. To come away with Lewis’s pole yesterday and victory today, I think it puts us in a great position for the next few races and on the right foot.”
Revelling in the promise of McLaren’s great start to the year after winning in Australia
“I haven’t got a clue what to do at the moment and every time we have good ideas we don’t seem to make any progress. I love driving an F1 car so I am confident every time I jump in and then after two laps there is no grip anywhere. Out of the front pack I was the slowest by a long way, and I am not two seconds a lap slower than Lewis.”
Struggling to understand a poor performance in the Canadian Grand Prix, in which he was lapped
“There’s nothing to say really. The TV camera says it all.”
Underlining that Sebastian Vettel’s off-track pass on him at Hockenheim is an open-and-shut case
“There is no one quicker than us at the moment and we can fight for the win in the next few races.”
Returning to form in the German Grand Prix
“Most of the problem this year has been in and out of the range where they work, and that’s a difficulty. You try and drive gentle with them to look after them, and they drop out of the range and you end up damaging the tyre more than if you keep them in the range and are aggressive with the tyre. It’s been very difficult, especially for me, because my style of driving initially didn’t suit the tyres – I’ve had to adapt a little bit.”
Explaining his tyre struggles
“I just think it’s great, I love reading it. Every day I read the papers and the websites. We [the drivers] all do, even though we say we don’t, and there’s a lot of good reading out there.”
Confessing that he enjoys driver market speculation… provided it doesn’t involve him
“He has chosen to go his own way at the end of the year. It is his decision, although I personally don’t think it is the right decision.”
Disagreeing with Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren
“One of the toughest races I have ever had.”
Having a long afternoon’s work winning the Brazilian Grand Prix
“After five races I thought that we would win the championship.”
Admitting in December that the season didn’t go as he hoped
William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V Kevin Michael Harvick
No comments:
Post a Comment