Sunday: A Disappointing Weekend for McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, 4th:

I made a good start, but I made a small mistake at the first corner and lost ground approaching the third corner while trying to overtake Webber. It was one of the highlights of my afternoon. If I hadn’t let Fernando [Alonso] and Jenson pass, I think I could have been third and fought for second place.

The battle with Jenson was good and fair, as always, but I had too much downforce on the front wing, which meant that I had a lot of trouble managing the rear tires. My tires were destroyed, and we opted for the four-stop strategy. Considering the time I lost during my third stop, I think we performed well. I don’t think it makes a huge difference to our final position, and I was very happy with how the car behaved once we had less downforce. We could have really done better today. But starting fourth and sixth and finishing fourth and sixth is a good way to get back after the break.

Jenson Button, 6th:

It’s a shame to finish so far back after a good first stint where everything was going well. I don’t think we had the right strategy. My battle with Lewis was magnificent, very fun, and there was a lot of excitement on the track. I am very disappointed with my final position. The car was very good but we chose the wrong strategy. I think most of the drivers started their race intending to make three stops, but many of them damaged their tires in the first stint and changed their approach.

We didn’t do it and I stayed out a few laps longer than everyone else and my tires were still good. But I think the next two stops were made too quickly compared to what the tires could have done, which is disappointing. We didn’t stop too late, the tires were still good at the end of each stint. So we should have stayed out longer because the last stint was really difficult. During the last stint, I tried to make the most of the car but it was so difficult because the difference in pace with new and used tires was too great.