McLaren lost both their perches at the top of the constructors and drivers standings after a terrible Hungarian GP. Jenson Button did finish with 3 points after starting from 11th but Hamilton retired with transmission failure. The Woking-based team will hope to have their car back up to speed with the Ferraris and the Red Bulls in four weeks time.
Jenson Button said that after a good start to a weekend, it was disappointing result for the team.”The weekend started really well: we showed good pace in free practice and I was looking forward to qualifying. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, and I started 11th on the grid. I got a good start off the line, but I went four abreast into Turn One, and got stuck on the outside, losing about four or five places. So, from that position, finishing eighth wasn’t too bad. I lost a lot of points, and for the team to take home only four points today is disappointing,” he reigning world champion said.
Button added that there is still all to play for in terms of championships: “There isn’t a very big points gap covering the top four drivers – I’m only 14 points behind the championship leader, after all – so it’s still all to play for. It’s been a tough weekend, but we’ll come back fighting. We’re a very positive and strong team, and we’ve been in difficult situations before, so we can definitely jump back from this – hopefully as soon as Spa-Francorchamps at the end of this month.”
As mentioned earlier, Lewis Hamilton retired from the race. “I was accelerating out of Turn One when I felt a sudden vibration and then a loss of drive. I initially thought it was a driveshaft failure, but it now appears that it was a gearbox problem. Actually, I may have had an issue with the gearbox from the very beginning of the race, when I initially feared I had a brake-related vibration,” the former world champ lamented, before adding that he was ‘certain’ McLaren would be able to catch up with the front-runners.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh admitted the team are disappointed, but believes they are still in the chase for both titles: “Obviously, we’re disappointed with our haul of world championship points here in Hungary, but we remain in hot contention for the drivers’ world championship and the constructors’ world championship, and it’s all still to play for in the last seven grands prix of the season. We always knew that this year’s world championship was going to be a tough battle, but we’re up for that tough battle – so bring it on!”
