After the race Button, who considers Japan his second home and makes frequent
trips to the country between races, said it had been emotional in light of
Japan’s recent natural disasters.
“It is a very emotional win for myself, obviously for the whole team as well
but especially for my close-knit team of Mikey [Collier, his physio], the
Old Man [father John Button], Jessica because obviously the connection for
Jessica.
“She was bawling her eyes out after the race so it was very difficult for me
to stop myself from crying. It was very difficult for all of us. To get the
win here is one of my most special victories. I don’t think I have ever won
a race on such a high-speed circuit, so it means a lot to me.”
Hamilton would love to rediscover some form but every time he threatens to —
in qualifying on Saturday, for instance, when he appeared to have the
fastest car — he finds himself the centre of yet another controversy.
On Saturday he was too slow getting to his final timed lap and became involved
in an on-track incident with Michael
Schumacher and Mark Webber. And before Sunday’s race former world
champion Nigel Mansell said he believed Hamilton had “an attitude problem”.
“He needs to get his head in a better place,” Mansell said. “No one in his
right mind deliberately drives into another car, so I wonder if some of his
problems have been caused by a lack of visibility? He needs to show better
peripheral awareness of where he is.”
Mansell would doubtless have been unimpressed by Hamilton’s collision with
Massa in Sunday’s race. The pair were battling for fourth place when they
came together at the chicane — as the Brazilian tried to go around the
outside at the same time that the Briton moved to the left.
Race stewards judged it to have been a racing incident. “I can’t see anything
out of my mirrors and they vibrate down the straight so much that I had no
idea he was there,” explained Hamilton, who nevertheless swallowed his
disappointment and visited the Red Bull paddock to congratulate their team
principal Christian Horner on Vettel’s title success.
Massa, though, was furious. “For what he says, I don’t care. I care about what
the federation says and what the FIA does. They have penalised people for
much less this year and this time they didn’t do it. It’s the second time in
a row after the problem in qualifying as well in the last race, and after
what happened yesterday.
“The FIA needs to take care of that. They are the only ones who can take care
of that. He doesn’t learn.”
How Button edged ahead
Lewis Hamilton has finished behind his team-mate in his last five races:
HUNGARY
Button was superb in slippery conditions; Hamilton suffered from a poor
strategy and a drive-through penalty.
Button 1st Hamilton 4th
BELGIUM
Hamilton was forced off by Kamui Kobayashi. Button made the podium, despite
starting 13th.
Button 3rd Hamilton DNF
ITALY
While Hamilton sat in traffic, Button overtook brilliantly to finish second.
Button 2nd Hamilton 4th
SINGAPORE
Button overcame a stomach bug to finish second. Hamilton picked up a
drive-through for hitting Felipe Massa.
Button 2nd Hamilton 5th
JAPAN
A win for Button, but Hamilton suffered a slow puncture and another crash with
Massa.
Button: 1st Hamilton: 5th