Jenson Button in 2003
Jenson Button in 2003Qualifying - 9th
"I was a little bit on the edge there and overcooked it in a couple of places, particularly in the second Degna where I went right over the kerb, so I lost a bit of time there," said Jenson after setting a lap time of 1:33.474. "We needed to pull out a fast one though and get the best out of the car, and that's what we've got to do to get the grid position. My set-up wasn't ideal going into warm-up and we had to work quite hard during that session to make it better. It's still not ideal but I'm quite pleased with the lap overall and it was a lot of fun. The most important thing now is to give it everything we've got in the race in order to win back fifth in the Championship."
Race - 4th
"That was incredible! We came here fighting for two points and came away with eight, which is just amazing. We really deserved this result today and to finally secure fifth place in the Championship is a great way for the team to finish the season. It was a very tough race though. I got a great start and took Webber on the outside, which was very important for us at that stage as we didn't know what strategy they were running. I had two perfect pitstops and after that it was just a question of conserving everything and staying as consistent as possible, because it's hard to keep your concentration here. It was nice to lead again for the second race in a row – even if it was only briefly on this occasion. Takuma has been under a lot of pressure all weekend and he rose above it. I'd like to thank Honda for a fantastic race engine and all the race team for a great job this weekend, especially in the pitstops today. I'd also like to pay tribute to the team back at base for sticking with it during a very difficult year. This is a great boost for all of us for the winter."
Qualifying - 11th
"We finally got on top of the set-up with my car this morning and it was working reasonably well. By the time we got to warm-up, the wind had picked up, the track temperature had increased and like most people I found myself with a different car. It wasn't too bad in qualifying; the balance was there but we're still finding grip hard to come by. I think we'll be quite strong in the race and we'll be fighting for valuable points."
Race - Retired
"Leading the US Grand Prix was a great feeling and a fantastic moment in my career, but it's massively disappointing to lose out on the best chance I've had at my first podium. The team were aware for a few laps that I was losing hydraulic pressure but there was nothing they could do about it. Before this affected the car we had an engine problem and as I came round the last corner the engine gave way. It was a really tough race generally. The changing weather made any strategic decision a gamble and we were waiting and waiting to be sure that stopping and changing to wets was the best move. We held on a bit too long and I went off as things got really slippery out there. The car was pretty much undriveable; I had a lot of oversteer and after my pitstop the car was really twitchy. Realistically Michael was going to get past me sooner or later but I was hanging in well behind him and I'm confident that, all things being equal, we could have stayed there for the rest of the race. We needed points here today and instead we missed out on a great opportunity."
Qualifying - 7th
"I'm really happy with seventh. It's been a while since I've done a really good qualifying lap so it feels great and I'm really pleased for the team. It felt like a very smooth lap and that's what you need here. It felt like I hung it all together and it's fantastic to be starting from the fourth row of the grid, which is where we should be. Tomorrow is a crucial opportunity for us. We have a good strategy and can definitely get points, so we'll be pulling out all the stops to take us a step closer to fifth in the championship."
Race - Retired
"I lost second gear early in the race so I had to rely on first. I was doing quite well considering, and I managed to stay ahead of Frentzen and Panis, then I lost first, sixth and seventh in close succession. It's a real shame after such a positive qualifying performance because I felt that we could easily have achieved points-finishes for both cars today. Jacques did a good job though and three points for the team is still very important at this stage. We have to maintain the momentum in testing next week now and make sure we do as good a job in Indy and Japan."
Qualifying - 14th
"That was a very bad qualifying for me. We changed some settings following practice this morning and it worked against us. We switched to a lot less traction control for the session and the result was no rear grip and a lot of oversteer, as you could see in the slide through the first corner. I’ve lost a lot of time and we’ve made things harder for ourselves tomorrow, but at least we know which direction we have to go in from here. The track, as always, is very dusty and it doesn’t tend to improve a great deal as the weekend progresses, so it’s going to be tough but we can definitely improve from here. Following the track changes it will be interesting to see if there are any more overtaking possibilities."
Race - 10th
"I got a pretty bad start and Jacques came flying past me, so there must have been a big difference in the launch starts we got. On top of that I didn't make the best of the second corner; I was round the outside and then Ralf spun off and I almost hit him. I finally got past Frentzen and Verstappen and then the car was working reasonably well and I was making good progress, but then I had a problem with the differential failing. This made the car very oversteery and difficult to drive so, all in all, not a great race. Obviously we now need to push very hard for points in the last three races.”
Brit-F1 Star Rating 
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 17th
"It was a pretty terrible qualifying and very disappointing because the car is strong here. I had too much oversteer throughout the lap and the car was just skating around at the back. Then in the second to last corner I made a big mistake when I got a lot of oversteer and ended up running off the circuit. It’s strange because we haven’t made any changes from warm-up, when the car was quick and we still had more to come. I think that the track temperature increasing by six degrees probably had a big influence as that can really unsettle the handling. We should have been inside the top 10 today so this has compromised us for sure, but I’m confident that we’ll be better in the race. I had a good race at Silverstone against all the odds so I’ll have to pull another one out of the bag here tomorrow now!"
Race - 8th
"I’m really pleased to finish eight today, it’s just a shame that we couldn’t collect two points instead of one. Still, every point counts and we did a great job from where we started. I have to thank the team and Honda because we were quick and reliable in tough race conditions. I had a real problem with my rears locking due to a diff control failure, so it wasn’t easy trying to keep everyone behind – particularly Webber. It’s a nightmare starting from the back and I have to do better in Hungary because I’m just making life hard for myself. We have to drive our car on the edge at the moment though and sometimes it’s very easy to slip over the limit."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 20th
"I’m very disappointed because the car was working
so well. We changed a few things from warm-up and the high-speed corners felt
great. We had a lot more grip and more speed through Copse and Becketts. You
always have to push hard in qualifying so I thought I would push it a bit harder
through the last corner before the Hangar Straight. I ran a couple of inches
wide, hit the kerb at a different angle, there was a loud bang and I couldn’t
continue. We now know that the front left push-rod failed under the load which
is surprising because we have done a lot of work on load-bearing in testing.
It’s obviously a great shame because this is my home race and the new
car package has been working very well, so this was a good chance to have a
strong qualifying position. We could have been right up there but instead we
will be starting from 20th tomorrow. I’m sure we can salvage something
though. At the Nurburgring we saw Heidfeld finish eighth after starting from
the back of the grid, so all is not lost. We just have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Race - 8th
"That was a lot of fun! It was always going to be hard from the back but I don’t think we could have done any better than that - it was one of the best performances of my career. I had nothing to lose so I went for it from the start. I made up five places on the first lap so I knew I had a car I could fight with. I was starting to work my way through the field when we had to pit under the safety car after the spectator ran on to the track, and I had to queue for a short time behind Jacques. I dropped back down to 18th and had to start all over again which was massively frustrating! I got a bit of oversteer but it went away, the tyres settled down and the balance was good. The car felt great. I had a lot of fun carving my way through the field and it was a great feeling for Jacques and I to be fighting with Michael. I got a good second stop to get back on track ahead of Jacques, then I was really starting to reel in Alonso. With him out of the race I was able to start chasing da Matta but in the end we just ran out of laps. It was a really special race for me today and I’m pleased that we have a point at the end of it because the team have worked really hard to get the car back up there."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 14th
"We haven’t really had any running time in which to
set the car up properly, so the lap was OK considering I’ve only done
about 40 minutes work out of an available two and a half hours of free practice
time as a result of us having to withdraw from yesterday’s first session
and then an engine problem which put me out for most of the third session this
morning. Most of the work I have done has been for the race so 14th was the
best I could hope for in qualifying. It’s never a good thing to be one
of the first on track in qualifying, then on my lap I got a bit too much understeer
in the first of the three new corners and lost a couple of tenths there, which
is quite disappointing. The car generally feels quite good though and I’m
confident about our strategy, so we’ll just have to wait and see what
the race brings now."
Race - Retired
"It’s obviously very disappointing to retire from a race because of a problem like this. It’s been a tough weekend but the team put the problems behind them and made the best of things. The race was going well; we were slow but the balance was good. I got a bit of oversteer after four or five laps but then the balance seemed to come back soon after. I was made aware by the team that there was a fuel delivery problem but then the car stopped out on track before I had time to make another pitstop. I’m looking forward to our home race in two weeks’ time when I hope the development work we’ve been doing with the engine and aerodynamics will see us improving for the rest of the season."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 12th
"I’m pretty happy with my lap considering the difficult
start we’ve had to the weekend. I had planned to be a little more cautious
through the Veedol chicane but as this was qualifying I decided to give it some
instead! I was pushing hard throughout the lap but we were still struggling
for grip so the car was very twitchy. It’s been a tough weekend so far
and we’ve had to try a lot of things with the set-up to improve for today.
The balance isn’t too bad now, we’re just not quick enough. It would
be nice to have some rain tomorrow but I don’t think it’s going
to come. We’ll just have to make the most of the strategy and do what
we can from the sixth row."
Race - 7th
"I’m very happy to finish where we did because we weren’t really on the pace at all today. The start was poor and there must have been a 30-metre gap between me and the guys in front, but I caught up at the first corner and managed to get past Webber in the process. I was really struggling with oversteer and I had to take it really easy on the first couple of stints to conserve the tyres, otherwise it would just have been oversteer all the way. It’s been a tough old weekend here so I’m pleased we were able to get a couple of points into the bargain because the boys deserve a bit of a boost. Their work in the pits today was incredible with Jacques and I in on the same lap. I hope we can all expect something more in Magny-Cours next weekend."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5
star max)
Qualifying - 17th
"We had a very good free practice this morning with Jacques
and I swapping places in the top three at one point. As the track has continued
to dry though we’ve struggled to keep up with the Michelin runners. My
qualifying lap was poor from the beginning. I had very low grip throughout and
the car wasn’t handling at all well, then the rears locked up in the last
corner. Even without that problem it wouldn’t have been a very impressive
lap. It’s very disappointing to be starting the race from 17th. It looks
like it’s going to be dry as well so from this position we have a lot
of hard work to do to make the best of things tomorrow once we are able to get
more heat into the tyres."
Race - Retired
"This was always going to be a difficult race for me given my grid position. The car felt good early on but I was stuck in a lot of traffic for most of the first stint. I got more and more understeer in the low-speed corners and it was impossible to overtake. The second stint was much better because I had clean air and I was catching Panis and da Matta, but then I had a problem with fourth gear. I was trying to short-shift but gradually I lost fifth then sixth then seventh. It’s a very disappointing end to a difficult weekend for the team. We had an improved package for this race and we were hopeful of better things, so I don’t really know what happened here."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Race Weekend
Jenson Button suffered a heavy crash in Saturday morning practice for the Monaco and was forced to pull out of the race on advice from medical director Syd Watkins.
"I’m obviously extremely disappointed that I was only spectating today. The weekend started out so well for me and I felt very confident that we could expect a strong finish here. I really wanted to race but at the same time I knew that withdrawing was the safest option. It’s far better for me to relax and prepare for the next race in Canada. The team did a great job for me on Thursday and Saturday morning, so it’s disappointing that we weren’t able to make the most of it"
Brit-F1 Star Rating - No stars this weekend but Thursday qualifying was showing good promise with 3rd fastest time
Qualifying - 7th
"I’m quite satisfied with my lap because I had too
much oversteer practically all the way round. It wasn’t a very tidy lap
because I was on the verge of being out of control. There wasn’t enough
grip out there but I was giving it maximum attack and pushing as hard as I could
- a little bit too much in the last corner because I ran wide. We’ve been
struggling to find the right balance all weekend and qualifying showed we’re
not quite on top of that. Having said that, we’ve been very competitive
so far, so I’m optimistic. Seventh on the grid gives us a lot of chances,
and because there have been so many surprises today, a podium is not beyond
the realms of possibility. Before I make any predictions though, I’d better
wait and see what happens in the race!"
Race - 4th
"I had a great race; I really enjoyed it. I matched my best race finish today so it’s great to be back up there getting the points again. The team did a superb job in the pitstops to get me out ahead of the Ferrari and everything just went well for me. I had a bit of oversteer because we ran new tyres on the rear, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. This is just what the team needed – and deserved. We earned our result today; it wasn’t just a fluke. I’ve had a great weekend all round really. I think we’ve shown how quick we are all the way through practice and qualifying, and today’s was a genuine race performance. It was nice to be able to challenge the front-runners, which is what we are capable of doing. We have to maintain the momentum now and I’ll be doing three days’ testing in Valencia next week in preparation for Monaco to make sure that happens."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5
star max)
Qualifying - 5th
"I’m very pleased with fifth today. This morning I had a car that was a little bit too twitchy at the rear in the high-speed corners and I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to get on top of that. We made some changes though and they seemed to do the trick, so I’m pleasantly surprised. It just felt like a very clean lap in which everything came together. A start like this gives you the confidence that the car is going to be stable for final qualifying and the race, so I’m very happy. We’ve had another small step up with the engine and aero here and these changes are gradually paying dividends. Things are looking good for the rest of the weekend so I’d like to think that top six is a possibility on Sunday.".
Race - 9th
"Considering how bad the race was for me I'm lucky to end up even close to the points. The start wasn't fantastic but then the tyres took a long time to warm up and I dropped behind the Williams. After the first pit stop I came up behind David Coulthard and he seemed to be struggling a little bit. I got alongside him on the inside in the first corner and he just turned in, so that destroyed my race really. I had to come into the pits with a damaged front wing and a puncture to the left front tyre. Because of that there was a problem getting the jack under the car and then getting the new tyre on again. I pushed as hard as I could for the rest of the race and there was still a chance of getting seventh or eighth. Then we had a gearshift problem towards the end of the race and I lost third gear three laps from the end and fourth for the last two laps. Not the best of races and in the end I was lucky to make it to the finish. The team did a great job throughout the weekend though so I'm just sorry we weren't able to make the best of it."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 9th
“We made good progress through free practice this morning and I was much more comfortable with the balance going into qualifying. The first two sectors of my qualifying lap were OK but then I went a bit wide in the high speed chicane up the hill and lost a bit of time. I also had a bit too much understeer in the high speed corners. I'm disappointed but I don't think we're looking too bad for tomorrow.”
Race - 8th
"It's good to get a point here but a little disappointing that we couldn't do better today. I got a little bogged down at the start behind Webber but then I pushed as hard as I could. I think we got everything right today in terms of strategy but we still finished a long way off the leaders. I think we've been able to demonstrate improving reliability but we just need a little more speed. We have an aero and engine upgrade for the next race, which we're testing in Mugello next week, so we should see a small step forward for Barcelona in two weeks' time."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 11th
“It's difficult to go out first because you've got to disperse the hot air out on the circuit. My time was a little slower than it was in the morning's final free practice but our race set up isn't too bad. I think we've gone in the right direction in terms of strategy and can make a few adjustments that can help us tomorrow.”
Race - Retired
"Everyone can say 'what if'?'. I was running fifth ahead of Raikkonen when I went off and we were fuelled to the finish, so if I hadn’t made that mistake, who knows? But then I guess there are a lot of other people who can say the same thing. The car was working well, the tyres were good and we had the right strategy. On that corner, the water runs off the banking on to the circuit, so we were bound to get caught out there. I just caught the standing water a little too much. I tried to save it but that just sent me into the tyre wall. I went in quite heavily and my back is aching a little bit but, as we saw, it could have been much worse. It’s disappointing but that’s the way it goes."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 9th
“It's nice to be inside the top ten but I didn't think the lap was going to be as quick as it was. I was a little bit disappointed with it at the end. The first sector seemed good to me then I made a mistake in each of the last two sectors. I think the time I gained under braking led me to make those mistakes so I guess I was just pushing too hard. This is roughly where we'd expected to be after a difficult morning in which we veered between oversteer and too much understeer before it started to come together. I think we're running a good fuel load for tomorrow so I'm optimistic.”
Race - Finished 7th
"It was a very tiring race and the car was so difficult to drive. We were a lot slower than the Renault today and when the car is that hard to handle it's very difficult to stay in front. I had very low grip, not just on the rear but also on the front, and the oversteer got progressively worse towards the end; it just destroyed the tyres. I held off Jarno for as long as I could, then on the last corner I braked where I normally would and the rear just locked up. I went straight on and Michael was able to get through. It's very disappointing because I was fighting hard to hold on to 5th. We got some points though and that's the main thing so I'm optimistic for Brazil."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 8th
"It’s difficult to know where we stand compared with everybody else but I’m pretty happy with 8th position. It’s a good place to be starting the first race of the season. We weren’t able to get many laps in during practice this morning but the car was working quite well then nonetheless. We had the 15-minute warm-up when the wind picked up and it felt like a completely different car to drive in qualifying; it felt very twitchy. It wasn’t a great lap and like everyone else there was room for improvement. We’re starting from a points-scoring position though so I’m still feeling confident for the race."
Race - Finished 10th
"It was very frustrating that we made the wrong tyre choice at the start and for my team-mate to come in on the wrong lap was disappointing and quite embarrassing really. The car worked very well in the practice sessions and qualifying so it was very disappointing to finish where we did today because we were very quick in the race."
Finished 10th
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
2002 Season Quotes - click here
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