Button blames ill-handling BAR

Jenson Button blamed an ill-handling BAR-Honda after squandering a front-row grid position in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The 25-year-old Brit raised hopes of a maiden Grand Prix victory on Honda's home ground when he took second place in qualifying, but his chances were scuppered by a handling problem in the race, which saw him slide into the clutches of the chasing pack and he was only able to finsih 5th.

Jenson Button "It's obviously very disappointing to finish fifth after starting second on the grid. It's very frustrating. In the first stint the tyres weren't too bad but the car had massive understeer on the exit of corners. We have been suffering from it all year, we really need to look at that for next year."

Button was further handicapped by a problem in his first pit stop, when the fuel cap on his car briefly failed to open.
"The first pit stop was screwed by the cap not opening so we lost about seven seconds. I thought I would be very close to getting ahead of Fisichella and if you are at the front it is very hard for them to beat you. That didn't happen. After that first pit stop I was really angry we lost time but I realised we couldn't have won anyway - we just weren't quick enough."

Now the youngster turns his attention to the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai, which he hopes will suit BAR better.
"I think the car will work better in Shanghai where the corners are a little bit banked and cambered. That seems to solve the issues we have. We need to have a good race there and look at the reasons why those banked corners help our car."

Jenson Button has called on BAR-Honda to solve the handling problems.