One driver who acknowledged that any semblance of a championship challenge was
effectively over for him was Jenson Button. “I’ll be amazed if we can win
the world championship this year,” the McLaren driver said. How about win a
race? “We still have to have that aim. It’s going to be tough for anyone to
win a grand prix this year apart from Mercedes, but if everything went to
plan, we possibly could.”
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso, who has not won a race since this home grand prix
a year ago, did not exactly give Catalonians much reason to turn up on
Sunday. Despite an impressive drive to third in China, the Spaniard said:
“If I tell you I will fight for the podium, probably I will lie to you and I
don’t want to do so for all the people that are coming.”
Both Alonso and reigning champion Sebastian
Vettel cut downbeat figures after being forced to scrap away this
season without much hope of victory.
Vettel has even resorted to reverting to an older chassis used in testing to
revive his campaign.
His RB10 has not suited Vettel’s style this year. “I wasn’t happy with my
performance,” the German said. “It is just to see the changes, reset
everything and try again.”
His Red Bull team have looked blisteringly quick through the corners, but
their Renault engine has severely hampered them on the straights. Vettel’s
title challenge depends a lot on whether Renault can make a significant step
forward this weekend. “There’s always hope,” was his conclusion.