In their 18 races to date McLaren have not had a single top-four finish, while
off the track tension has grown between non-executive chairman Ron Dennis
and his successor as team principal, Martin Whitmarsh.
It is understood that McLaren’s Bahraini shareholders have been advised by
senior figures within the sport to reinstall Dennis as principal, although
he remains a divisive figure within the company.
Certainly the champagne must have tasted very flat at the small party thrown
by McLaren last night to celebrate Button’s achievement in becoming the most
experienced British driver in Formula One, the Englishman’s 247 races
sending him clear of David Coulthard. Button was in no mood to celebrate
after his soggy exit in Q2.
“We struggled because there was so much water and we haven’t run when the
conditions were this bad,” said the 33-year-old, who predicted that it would
continue to be a struggle with the forecast set for more heavy rain.
“We’ve been trying to save tyres all weekend for qualifying but we made the
wrong call. We couldn’t get the temperature into the tyres. If it’s wet like
this tomorrow it’s a horrible race because you can’t see anything. Hopefully
it won’t be all under the safety car.”
Asked if his experience could make any difference, Button said: “I don’t think
so.”
At least Button’s car was still in one piece last night. His team-mate Pérez,
who has been jettisoned for 2014 in favour of rookie Dane Kevin Magnussen,
damaged his pretty badly after aquaplaning into a wall in Q2.
“I was giving it my all because I knew it was my last lap,” said the Mexican,
who is rumoured to be close to agreeing a deal with Force India for 2014,
where Paul di Resta’s future looks increasingly bleak.
“I was pushing over the limit because the car was not responding at all. It
has been a disappointing season.
“Hopefully we can finish on a high and look forward to the future. I hope I
can tell you in a year’s time that the best thing that ever happened to me
was to leave McLaren.”
Final Positions after Qualifying:
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 26.479secs
2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:27.102
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:27.539
4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:27.572
5 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:27.677
6 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus F1 Team 1:27.737
7 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:28.052
8 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:28.081
9 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:28.109
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.582
11 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:27.456
12 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:27.798
13 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:27.954
14 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:28.269
15 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:28.308
16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:28.586
17 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:27.367
18 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.445
19 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham 1:27.843
20 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham 1:28.320
21 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:28.366
22 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia 1:28.950