• Turkish Grand Prix

Button blames McLaren strategy for poor showing

Jenson Button went wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton early in the race © Sutton Images

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Jenson Button blamed his disappointing sixth-place finish at the Turkish Grand Prix on his pit-stop strategy.

Button was the only driver in the top eight not to pit four times for tyres, and while he enjoyed a good first stint in which he went wheel-to-wheel with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and came out on top, he said that his strategy was to blame for his finishing position.

"It's a pity to finish so far back after everything in the first stint seemed to go so well," he said. "Strategy-wise, I don't think we got it right today. My battle with Lewis was great fun and I there was a lot of excitement on the track, but I was disappointed to finish where I did - the car felt very good but we just went the wrong way on strategy."

Button felt he could - and should - have stayed out longer during each stint, but in the end followed the team's advice.

"I think most people probably started the race aiming for a three-stopper, but because many of them damaged their tyres in the first stint, they changed their approach," Button said. "We didn't, and I was able to put a couple of laps on everyone and my tyres still felt pretty good - but I felt the next two stops were earlier than the tyres could have done, which is disappointing.

"We didn't leave the stops late enough - the tyres were still good at the end of every stop, so we should have stayed out longer because it just made the last stint extremely difficult. During the final stint, I was trying to get the best out of the car but it's so hard because the difference in pace between a fresh and used set of tyres is so great."

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