• British Grand Prix

We must improve car - Button

ESPN Staff
July 8, 2012 « No serious injuries at Sauber, Kobayashi apologises | Rain would have helped Mercedes - Schumacher »
Jenson Button was unable to pass Bruno Senna in the closing stages of the race © Press Association
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Jenson Button believes that McLaren has fallen behind Williams and Sauber in terms of outright pace after finishing tenth in the British Grand Prix.

Button was always in for a tough afternoon after he was only able to qualify in 18th place on Saturday, though he started 16th after grid penalties were imposed. In one sense, salvaging tenth place was a good result for Button and he admitted that he was pleased with the point but he felt that the McLaren has slipped behind in terms of pace.

"I'm pleased to get a point today, so it wasn't great," Button said. "I had fun out there. Lots of fun overtaking moves, especially with Nico [Rosberg] but struggled at the end to get past the guys in front. I think our pace was OK but I just don't think we're quite there on pace. It's not just the Red Bull's that are stronger than us, it's the Ferraris, it's the Lotuses, I even think the Williams and the Saubers. So it's tough and it's very, very competitive out there and when you're a little bit off the pace like we are you're right down in the points."

Button dismissed any notion that Silverstone was a track that didn't suit him as he is still yet to finish on the podium and thanked his home fans for their continuing support.

"I don't think it worked too well for my team-mate today and he's won here before, so I just think as a team the car's just not quick at the moment and we need to improve it. We're a very strong team, it's McLaren, multiple world championships they've won so we will improve the car. It's just a surprise that there's so many teams that are competitive out there and a step ahead of us. It's disappointing, not just for the whole team but for the British fans here. The 120,000-odd fans here have been absolutely amazing I must say. On the in lap we drove round really slow - Lewis and myself - and there's so much cheering of Union Jacks and St George's Crosses, and it's great that we get that support on such a tough day as today because we definitely need it."

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