SPA, Belgium — Jenson Button coasted to his second victory of the season on Sunday at the Belgian Grand Prix after Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso was sent flying off the track following Romain Grosjean's reckless driving.It was Button's first victory at Spa and No. 14 for the British driver's career. He led from start to finish, oblivious to the mayhem behind him."This is such a special circuit, so to get a victory here from light to flag is very special," Button said. "It hasn't been an easy year for me. We're going to enjoy this for a little while longer before we head to Monza and hopefully do the same."Button triumphantly zigzagged across the track as he approached the finish line and then clapped his hands together in celebration. He then stood on his McLaren and leaned his head back as he clenched both fists."The car felt very good to drive and I could control the degradation of the tires. It's always easier to do that when you're leading," said Button, who climbed to sixth place overall. "It's a massive long shot to win the title, but today proves that you can claw back 25 points very quickly. There's still 63 points to make up, but anything's possible."Alonso, who is chasing his third F1 title, was relieved after he felt OK following the scary wreck."You can have an injury in your hand or your head with a crash like that, so I am lucky in that aspect," Alonso said. "I felt a train coming with a big, big hit."Defending champion Sebastian Vettel finished second and cut Alonso's lead to 24 points, putting the two-time champion right back in contention."I was reasonably confident because I know anything can happen here and you can overtake," Vettel said.Kimi Raikkonen was third, continuing the consistent form he's shown all season long with his third straight podium and sixth overall.Kamui Kobayashi was 13th.
Showing posts with label Button. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Button. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Button takes pole; Kobayashi second
SPA, Belgium — British driver Jenson Button ended a three-year wait for pole position by finishing fastest in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, while defending champion Sebastian Vettel was set to start Sunday's race from 10th place.
Sitting pretty: Kamui Kobayashi poses for pictures after finishing second in qualifying for the Belgian GP. AFP-JIJIButton, who won the season's opening GP in Australia, overcame earlier balance problems to grab his first pole of the season on Saturday, the eighth of his career and his first ever in his 50th race for McLaren."It's been quite a long time since I got my last pole position, back in 2009 in Monaco. It's been emotional," said Button, who won the F1 title that year with the Brawn team. "Maybe a five-week break between every race is what I need . . . I'm getting old now."The 32-year-old Button seemed to be struggling earlier in the day with the understeering of his car, but got it right when it mattered with a best lap of 1 minute, 47.573 seconds."A great qualifying session, the engineers have really been on it today," Button said. "I just got the balance right. We just tickled it, especially through qualifying. The balance is to my liking. It's difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying but when it does we get pole position."Button, vying for his 14th GP win, is seventh in the championship and 88 points behind overall leader Fernando Alonso of Spain.It has been one of the most unpredictable seasons for years, and that trend looks set to continue in Spa with unheralded driver Kamui Kobayashi starting in second place."In yesterday's practice we really struggled a lot, but this morning we improved a lot," said Kobayashi, who got his best-ever qualifying position. "We didn't really know how much the track conditions would improve. Tomorrow is a different story, and we need to fight."Kobayashi is only the second Japanese driver to start on the front row after Takuma Sato in 2004 at the Nurburgring.Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela posted the third fastest time in qualifying, but he was demoted three grid positions to sixth for holding up Force India's Nico Hulkenberg on a turn, meaning that Kimi Raikkonen moves up one place to third, Sergio Perez goes to fourth and Alonso to fifth.Maldonado, who won the Spanish GP in May, nevertheless showed the potential of the Williams car, and was quickest in the first qualifying session."I adapted to the different conditions," Maldonado said before learning of his penalty.Vettel's bid to catch Alonso looks to have taken another blow, while his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start the race with a five-place grid penalty, knocking him down from seventh to 12th, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton moving up from eighth to seventh."There was no problem, I just wasn't quick enough," said Vettel, who is 42 points adrift of Alonso overall. "The speed wasn't there."
Sitting pretty: Kamui Kobayashi poses for pictures after finishing second in qualifying for the Belgian GP. AFP-JIJIButton, who won the season's opening GP in Australia, overcame earlier balance problems to grab his first pole of the season on Saturday, the eighth of his career and his first ever in his 50th race for McLaren."It's been quite a long time since I got my last pole position, back in 2009 in Monaco. It's been emotional," said Button, who won the F1 title that year with the Brawn team. "Maybe a five-week break between every race is what I need . . . I'm getting old now."The 32-year-old Button seemed to be struggling earlier in the day with the understeering of his car, but got it right when it mattered with a best lap of 1 minute, 47.573 seconds."A great qualifying session, the engineers have really been on it today," Button said. "I just got the balance right. We just tickled it, especially through qualifying. The balance is to my liking. It's difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying but when it does we get pole position."Button, vying for his 14th GP win, is seventh in the championship and 88 points behind overall leader Fernando Alonso of Spain.It has been one of the most unpredictable seasons for years, and that trend looks set to continue in Spa with unheralded driver Kamui Kobayashi starting in second place."In yesterday's practice we really struggled a lot, but this morning we improved a lot," said Kobayashi, who got his best-ever qualifying position. "We didn't really know how much the track conditions would improve. Tomorrow is a different story, and we need to fight."Kobayashi is only the second Japanese driver to start on the front row after Takuma Sato in 2004 at the Nurburgring.Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela posted the third fastest time in qualifying, but he was demoted three grid positions to sixth for holding up Force India's Nico Hulkenberg on a turn, meaning that Kimi Raikkonen moves up one place to third, Sergio Perez goes to fourth and Alonso to fifth.Maldonado, who won the Spanish GP in May, nevertheless showed the potential of the Williams car, and was quickest in the first qualifying session."I adapted to the different conditions," Maldonado said before learning of his penalty.Vettel's bid to catch Alonso looks to have taken another blow, while his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will start the race with a five-place grid penalty, knocking him down from seventh to 12th, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton moving up from eighth to seventh."There was no problem, I just wasn't quick enough," said Vettel, who is 42 points adrift of Alonso overall. "The speed wasn't there."
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