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McLaren ace Button seals it in Melbourne
Source: Agencies |
March 29, 2010, Monday
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FORMULA One world champion Jenson Button timed his pitstop to perfection to chalk up his first win for McLaren in a rain-affected and entertaining Australian Grand Prix yesterday.
The Briton, a winner in Melbourne with Brawn GP last year, took the lead when Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, starting on pole position, was pitched into the gravel mid-race by a brake failure.
"It feels so good... Guys, amazing job, I think we got that pitstop pretty much perfect," Button, who went for an early change to slicks that proved crucial, shouted over the team radio after beating Renault's Robert Kubica by 12.034 seconds.
"It was the right time. Fantastic job, this is a great way to start the year."
Poland's Kubica was comfortably clear of Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, who nosed out teammate Fernando Alonso for third after the Spaniard had roared back from a first corner spin that left him in last place.
With the race starting in wet conditions, Button was the first to pit for slick tires and seemed to have got it wrong when he immediately skidded off into the gravel. It took only a lap for him to be vindicated, however, as the track dried.
"He made the call on his tires," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh after a race full of overtaking to banish fears of more tedium after a dull opener in Bahrain two weeks ago.
"We said 'you make the call', he got it spot on and that won him the race."
After locking out the front row, Red Bull's race again unraveled with Vettel crashing out on lap 26 of 58 and Australian Mark Webber colliding with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap while fighting for fifth place.
Webber, who had hoped to become the first Australian to win his home race, ended up ninth in a race he had led briefly before falling back and having to scrap for every position. Hamilton was on Kubica's tail and might have anchored a McLaren one-two, or even won, before his team called him in for a misguided second change of tires.
"I think I probably had one of the drives of my life," he told the BBC. "Unfortunately due to the strategy I was put further back and then I got taken out by Mark Webber.
"I think I honestly drove my heart out today and I think I deserved better than what I ended up with," the 25-year-old added.
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher finished 10th for Mercedes after being effectively ruled out at turn one.
Button's left front tire hit Alonso's right at the first corner, causing the Spaniard to spin and collide with Schumacher and break the Mercedes' front wing to force an unscheduled stop.
Only 14 cars finished the race as intermittent showers made tire selection, and the timing of pitstops, a key factor on the bumpy street circuit.
The safety car made an early appearance when BMW Sauber's Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi rebounded off a barrier at turn six on the first lap, crashing into Williams's German driver Nico Hulkenberg. The incident also forced Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi out.
Double world champion Alonso, who won on his Ferrari debut in Bahrain last week, stayed top of the standings after two races with 37 points to Massa's 33. Button has 31.
The Briton, a winner in Melbourne with Brawn GP last year, took the lead when Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, starting on pole position, was pitched into the gravel mid-race by a brake failure.
"It feels so good... Guys, amazing job, I think we got that pitstop pretty much perfect," Button, who went for an early change to slicks that proved crucial, shouted over the team radio after beating Renault's Robert Kubica by 12.034 seconds.
"It was the right time. Fantastic job, this is a great way to start the year."
Poland's Kubica was comfortably clear of Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, who nosed out teammate Fernando Alonso for third after the Spaniard had roared back from a first corner spin that left him in last place.
With the race starting in wet conditions, Button was the first to pit for slick tires and seemed to have got it wrong when he immediately skidded off into the gravel. It took only a lap for him to be vindicated, however, as the track dried.
"He made the call on his tires," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh after a race full of overtaking to banish fears of more tedium after a dull opener in Bahrain two weeks ago.
"We said 'you make the call', he got it spot on and that won him the race."
After locking out the front row, Red Bull's race again unraveled with Vettel crashing out on lap 26 of 58 and Australian Mark Webber colliding with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap while fighting for fifth place.
Webber, who had hoped to become the first Australian to win his home race, ended up ninth in a race he had led briefly before falling back and having to scrap for every position. Hamilton was on Kubica's tail and might have anchored a McLaren one-two, or even won, before his team called him in for a misguided second change of tires.
"I think I probably had one of the drives of my life," he told the BBC. "Unfortunately due to the strategy I was put further back and then I got taken out by Mark Webber.
"I think I honestly drove my heart out today and I think I deserved better than what I ended up with," the 25-year-old added.
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher finished 10th for Mercedes after being effectively ruled out at turn one.
Button's left front tire hit Alonso's right at the first corner, causing the Spaniard to spin and collide with Schumacher and break the Mercedes' front wing to force an unscheduled stop.
Only 14 cars finished the race as intermittent showers made tire selection, and the timing of pitstops, a key factor on the bumpy street circuit.
The safety car made an early appearance when BMW Sauber's Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi rebounded off a barrier at turn six on the first lap, crashing into Williams's German driver Nico Hulkenberg. The incident also forced Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi out.
Double world champion Alonso, who won on his Ferrari debut in Bahrain last week, stayed top of the standings after two races with 37 points to Massa's 33. Button has 31.
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