• Singapore Grand Prix

Button admits Vettel was too quick

Jenson Button: "We were not quick enough to win today" © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Singapore Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Jenson Button

• Teams:
• McLaren

Jenson Button admitted McLaren did not have the pace to beat Sebastian Vettel at the Singapore Grand Prix despite closing to within 1.7s in the final few laps.

Vettel led Button from the getaway and built up a big lead before a safety car period cut it down to size. However, it was during the last stint that Button looked like a real threat as he slashed into Vettel's lead with a series of quick laps on a set of supersoft tyres. In the end traffic played a bigger part in deciding the size of the gap than the pace of the cars, and Button admitted his McLaren was not fast enough.

"It was the best we could have done today and I feel that I got everything out of the car, especially towards the end of the race when I was able to push on the tyres and really feel what the car had," Button said. "But we were not quick enough to win today. It was a good finish all the same and hopefully something we can build on for the next race."

Backmarkers held him up during his charge in the final laps and he admitted it had been frustrating at times.

"I can understand that it's difficult to move over, and most people were fighting here, but they've got to respect that the cars that are lapping them are doing so for a reason; because they're quicker than them and fighting hard for position," he added. "There were some frustrating moments in the race, one was with Kobayashi - I sat behind him for a lap, couldn't get past and then he finally pulled over. The Williams obviously were fighting between themselves. The thing is, when it gets to the last lap and people see that they've been lapped, they think that it's their last lap and they're pushing hard and they forget that there are cars trying to overtake."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.