Button makes the call for 200 and 1

F1 News
Date: 31/July/2011

Rival F1 drivers should probably reply "do whatever Jenson Button does", when asked over the team radio about tyre and pitstop strategy during tricky wet-dry races.

Button's four wins since joining McLaren as the reigning world champion in 2010 have all been aided by the Englishman's sixth sense in changeable conditions.

That includes Sunday's thrilling victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Button's 200th race, which began on intermediate tyres after a short rain shower on the grid.

"It's just perfect for my 200th grand prix," smiled Button. "This track is where I won my first grand prix, back in 2006 in these sort of conditions, and I have won here again, so a great moment."

Third in the early stages behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, Button used the switch to slicks to get the better of Vettel, and his second pit stop looked set to be equally profitable.

While Hamilton pitted for another set of the softer slicks, Button went for the harder option, the increased durability of which meant he could stay out for the remainder of the race.

Button was on course to assume the lead when Hamilton pitted, but a further rain shower meant it wouldn't be that simple.

A spin by Hamilton then put the pair level and some exciting wheel-to-wheel driving followed, before Lewis dived into the pits for intermediates.

It was a bad move and Button knew it.

"Lewis and I passed each other and then the team said ‘in this lap for inters’," revealed Button. "To me that was a big surprise.

"Then they suddenly said 'no, no, stay out. Lewis is coming in’.

"I was never going to come in anyway as it was nowhere near inter conditions. We braved it out on slicks and it was definitely the right call.

"We were struggling but we weren’t that slow. And when you put inters on, you’ve got to put slicks back on after, so you’ve got to stop twice more.

"For me, it wasn’t the right decision. I didn’t think it was wet enough and these guys [Vettel and Alonso, who finished 2nd and 3rd] didn’t either."

Button confessed that he has something of a Midas touch when it comes to calling pit-stop strategy on a damp track, but couldn’t - or wouldn't - reveal the secret to his success.

"You’re not always going to make the right call in these conditions, but I feel that I’m pretty good at making the right call when it comes to tyre changes," he said.

However he insisted that strategy wasn't the sole reason for his latest victory: "The reason we won today was because we were quick. If it didn’t rain, it wouldn’t have made any difference."

And on that note, Button added: "It’s been one of my most enjoyable races, but I would like to win one in the dry please."

Button is fifth in the world championship, nine points behind Alonso.