Button back to earth after Montreal high
Jenson Button lived the high-life following his rousing Canadian Grand Prix triumph, but knows it is back to business this weekend.
Button spent time in Los Angeles and Las Vegas on a close friend's stag-do, or as the 31-year-old put it he "went gambling and had lots to drink".It was a perfect way for Button to celebrate what he has stated was the best win of his career as he came from 21st and last to win a wild race in the wet.
"I went out on Sunday evening in Montreal with some friends, my girlfriend and my old man, which was great," said Button.
"But we were all just really tired after the race. It was a very emotional, very draining race, so we finished at about two o'clock, so it wasn't too crazy.
"Then I headed to LA for a couple of days and Vegas for three days because it was my friend's bachelor party, which was nice.
"It was a great way to celebrate that, but also my victory, to just hang out, get some sun and spend time with very close friends."
The first thing Button then did upon returning to his home on the island of Guernsey was to re-live his 10th career triumph.
"I watched it straight away, as soon as I walked through the door," added Button.
"But nobody had recorded it for me - I guess they thought I knew what happened - so I got on the iplayer.
"It was good to watch it. I watch back pretty much every race, with some exceptions.
"You always know the result, but some of them you are always hoping that result isn't the case and is going to change.
"This one I was excited about the result. It was just fun to watch, albeit frustrating until 30 laps to go, and then it all turned out nice."
After all the partying and the cherished memories, it was a case of back down to earth with a bump as Button was sixth quickest at the end of practice for the European Grand Prix at Valencia, half a second down on Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
The particular difficulty was understanding Pirelli's new medium tyre being introduced here for the first time.
"I'm not entirely happy," said the McLaren driver.
"It was difficult to get the car set up on both tyres, which is the first time it's happened this year.
"It does feel like the medium tyre is too hard for this circuit, so I hope the track improves and we'll be more competitive.
"But at least I feel we're going in the right direction for a good set-up on the car."
Despite that, and trailing Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by 60 points in the standings, Button is confident he can still win the title with 12 races remaining.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could fight for it," said Button.
"Anything can happen during a season. It's definitely a lot more difficult now compared to starting from zero at the beginning of the year.
"But this is where we, we are 60 points behind, but we've seen a couple of weaknesses from Red Bull and Sebastian over the last two races, and the luck isn't always on their side, which is good to see.
"Clearly they're going to be tough to beat at every race we go to this year, but Formula One is a challenge, it's very competitive at the moment and we are going to do everything we can to fight them this season."
Vettel was forced to settle for third behind Alonso, who posted a time of one minute 37.968secs, as well as Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The top seven were covered by just over half a second, with Mercedes' Michael Schumacher fourth quickest ahead of Felipe Massa in his Ferrari, Button and then Mark Webber in the second Red Bull.
Force India's Paul di Resta managed just 11 laps late in the second session after reserve Nico Hulkenberg crashed his car in first practice, necessitating lengthy repairs.
The 25-year-old Scot, however, produced a credible performance as he finished 14th, just 0.7secs behind team-mate Adrian Sutil.
0 comments:
Post a Comment