Jenson Button says he’s mystified at how McLaren fell off the pace in qualifying at Silverstone today.
Button qualified fifth, while team mate Lewis Hamilton is back in 10th. Button’s biggest concern was the time gap to the third placed Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.
“It wasn’t perfect, but I think we made the best out of it,” said Button. “We didn’t have the best balance to be fair, and it cost me quite a bit of lap time, But still, to be that far behind the cars in front, and it felt OK, is very surprising.
“We’re 1.3s behind a Ferrari, who at the last race were very similar to us in qualifying. We brought a lot of updates here, and you’d expect we would be closer, but we dropped back, and they gained 1.3s.
“I can say that I didn’t have a great lap, because I didn’t have a great balance. And it’s the same for everyone I’m sure, not everyone had a perfect balance.
“I just don’t understand why we’ve lost so much pace. The guys have done a great job, but the car hasn’t really felt the same all weekend. I don’t know whether it’s the regulations or what.”
Button is still hopeful of a good result, especially if the race is damp.
“I think we can really take the fight to the other guys, in mixed conditions, and maybe have one over on them, I hope.”
Adam Cooper F1 