• Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying

Q3 was unexpected - Button

ESPN Staff
April 20, 2013 « Webber targeted fifth on grid | Mercedes investigates Hamilton's lost pace »
Jenson Button: "We'd been a long way off the pace all weekend" © Sutton Images
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Jenson Button did not think his McLaren was capable of getting into the top ten in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix after struggling for pace all weekend.

Button snuck into Q3 on Saturday and will start from tenth on the grid, but with the troublesome McLaren struggling for grip all weekend he said the team would view the result as an achievement.

"It was unexpected. We'd been a long way off the pace all weekend. We're not fighting at the front and that's what I'm here to do, but little achievements like that are good for the team."

Button said overcoming the lack of pace would be difficult in the race but he is still aiming for a top ten finish.

"I think it's going to be a tough race," he said. "We're always going to be positive and every time I get in the car I want to be as quick as I can and I'm going to that tomorrow. But I don't want people to be expecting too much of us tomorrow. We're definitely on for points and hopefully we can come away with both cars in the points tomorrow."

He said McLaren was not as strong as it was in China, where he finished fifth, and would struggle to make a big difference with an alternative strategy.

"We're not as competitive as in China," he added. "If we'd actually set a qualifying time in China we would have been P7 or P6. I'm happy to be in the top ten and I think we can still be in the top ten at the end of the race."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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