Post by Madhatter on Jun 15, 2006 16:49:38 GMT
England may have seen their World Cup aspirations get off to a good start but any hopes Jenson Button could add to the delight of the fans was quashed after just ten laps when an oil leak ended a torrid weekend.
Indeed, it was a tough race all-round for the home drivers, with David Coulthard complaining of no grip on his way to finishing in 12th place, having started the race in 11th.
Starting from a lowly 19th after his qualifying drama, Button was making swift progress through the field for the early part of the race, benefiting from the Becketts accident that eliminated three and delayed others.
However, as he came to challenge Coulthard for 11th place by lap ten, an oil leak in his Honda engine causing a small fire, pitching him off the race track when fluid leaked onto the tyres.
With fans hoping for a strong result on home soil, Button was disappointed that an otherwise strong start turned into further despair, claiming that he felt rather emotional on the way back to the pit lane.
"The race was going well for me and the car felt pretty good. We weren't as quick as the leaders but the car was working well and had a good balance. I was absolutely loving it out there, working my way through the field, and given our fuel load I was doing pretty well.
"Then I saw the flames out of the back of the car and went off due to oil on the tyres, so it is looking like an engine oil leak unfortunately. A disappointing end to the weekend really, especially in front of my home crowd. It's frustrating that I couldn't give them the race they deserved today.
"When I walked back in it was quite emotional as there were lots of cheers and flags being waved. The fans' support this weekend has been fantastic. As for the next race, the important thing is to get the best out of what we have which we weren't able to do here this weekend."
Coulthard meanwhile was able to reach the chequered flag, but having struggled with race pace all afternoon, the Scot admitted that the team is not where they need to be at the moment.
"The car had a lot of understeer during the race. I thought I might have done some damage to its underside when I was pushed wide over the kerb at the exit of Stowe on lap one during a battle with Jacques Villeneuve. There was more understeer than there had been during qualifying or the practices and I was surprised by the car's balance.
"We increased the front aero by two percent during the race to reduce the understeer, which is a hell of a lot, and it was a little better by the end. Mechanically we performed well, but aero efficiency wise, which is what you need round a circuit like this, we're not where we need to be and we know we've got work to do."
Indeed, it was a tough race all-round for the home drivers, with David Coulthard complaining of no grip on his way to finishing in 12th place, having started the race in 11th.
Starting from a lowly 19th after his qualifying drama, Button was making swift progress through the field for the early part of the race, benefiting from the Becketts accident that eliminated three and delayed others.
However, as he came to challenge Coulthard for 11th place by lap ten, an oil leak in his Honda engine causing a small fire, pitching him off the race track when fluid leaked onto the tyres.
With fans hoping for a strong result on home soil, Button was disappointed that an otherwise strong start turned into further despair, claiming that he felt rather emotional on the way back to the pit lane.
"The race was going well for me and the car felt pretty good. We weren't as quick as the leaders but the car was working well and had a good balance. I was absolutely loving it out there, working my way through the field, and given our fuel load I was doing pretty well.
"Then I saw the flames out of the back of the car and went off due to oil on the tyres, so it is looking like an engine oil leak unfortunately. A disappointing end to the weekend really, especially in front of my home crowd. It's frustrating that I couldn't give them the race they deserved today.
"When I walked back in it was quite emotional as there were lots of cheers and flags being waved. The fans' support this weekend has been fantastic. As for the next race, the important thing is to get the best out of what we have which we weren't able to do here this weekend."
Coulthard meanwhile was able to reach the chequered flag, but having struggled with race pace all afternoon, the Scot admitted that the team is not where they need to be at the moment.
"The car had a lot of understeer during the race. I thought I might have done some damage to its underside when I was pushed wide over the kerb at the exit of Stowe on lap one during a battle with Jacques Villeneuve. There was more understeer than there had been during qualifying or the practices and I was surprised by the car's balance.
"We increased the front aero by two percent during the race to reduce the understeer, which is a hell of a lot, and it was a little better by the end. Mechanically we performed well, but aero efficiency wise, which is what you need round a circuit like this, we're not where we need to be and we know we've got work to do."
