Sunday: Button scores important points for McLaren
The two McLaren drivers seemed well on course to both finish in the points, but after yet another bold overtaking attempt, Sergio Pérez fell victim to a collision with Kimi Räikkönen, damaging his car and forcing him to retire. Jenson Button, on the other hand, finished in 6th place, scoring important points for McLaren.
Jenson Button – 6th:
« Things didn’t really seem good initially, but the Monaco Grand Prix is one of those races where you need to hold on until the end because anything can happen – and today it did. My first laps were good – I overtook Adrian [Sutil] and tried to pass Fernando [Alonso] at the hairpin. I touched his rear wheel, so I wasn’t very attentive when Checo [Sergio Pérez] made a nice move out of the tunnel at the braking of the harbor chicane.
After the restart, Adrian made a nice overtaking move on me at the hairpin – I didn’t think it would be possible because I had tried it on Fernando earlier and it hadn’t worked. Then, in the final laps, Checo and Kimi [Räikkönen] collided, and suddenly there was a battle behind them because they were slower with damaged cars. So I took the opportunity to pass Fernando on the inside at the Rascasse, which was fun, and I finished 6th.
It was a shame that Checo had to retire because we could have scored big points today – it would have been a good boost for the team – but I scored good points, and our pace with a clear track was good, so there are many positives to take from today.
Sergio Pérez – Retirement:
I had a great race – I overtook several cars this afternoon – but in my opinion, Kimi didn’t leave me enough space when I tried to pass him at the exit of the tunnel, and as a result, I was squeezed against the rail at the entrance of the harbor chicane. It was really a shame – I had overtaken Jenson and Fernando here, and Jenson had overtaken me here as well, but I couldn’t avoid contact with Kimi. Of course, any overtaking maneuver in Monaco is risky, but in the end, you have to leave space for the other.
Following our contact, my brake scoops were affected and my front brakes overheated – in fact, I simply lost the brakes. It’s particularly frustrating to retire from a Grand Prix in which you have been so strong and fast, and even more so when you are so close to the finish. So overall, I am really very disappointed – for the team and myself.
