Button relieved no one was hurt in crash-strewn race

2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

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Jenson Button said he was pleased nobody was hurt following a series of high-speed crashes during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The race, run in persistent rain, saw high-speed crashes for Kimi Raikkonen, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean’s day also ended in the wall before the race had even begun.

Brazilian Grand Prix in pictures
The start of race was initially delayed before proceedings got underway behind the Safety Car. There were further interruptions due to crashes and two red flag periods due to heavy rain. However the race eventually ran to its full distance.

Button said it was “very difficult conditions in which to judge what’s right and what’s wrong” with the Safety Car calls. “But nobody was injured and that’s the most important thing. ”

The McLaren driver endured a dismal race and had dropped to the tail of the field at the chequered flag. “Finishing last is unusual for me in conditions like these,” he admitted, “so there’s definitely something wrong. I don’t think I’ve forgotten how to drive in the wet.”

Button suspects something is wrong with his car and wants McLaren to investigate it before his final race in Abu Dhabi.

“After today’s race we need to go back to the factory and work out what it is that’s wrong with the car,” he added.

“During Friday practice, it was working really well; I was comfortable with the car and in the high-speed corners we had a strong rear-end. Yesterday, it wasn’t working, and today it was further exaggerated by the conditions.”

2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    10 comments on “Button relieved no one was hurt in crash-strewn race”

    1. It does indeed seem that Button’s head isn’t in the right place at the moment.

    2. I’m also relieved no one was hurt. Today we saw some very scary moments, specially Kimi’s spin. I stopped breathing for a moment…

      To cross the track like that, with the full pack blindingly approaching turn 1 at full speed isn’t fun…

      1. Vetel’s spin scared me even more. Facing the wrong way and having to re-enter the track made me want to close my eyes.
        Do I go, don’t I go? Just go, close your eyes and hope for the best. I had my head half turned ready to look away if it looked like he was going to get smacked.

    3. With Button it’s always the Car, not his poor performance behind the wheel. He was outclassed by by Fred 14 once again.

      1. The most overrated and over paid driver in the last 5 years always the cars fault, cannot understand why Mac didn’t try and get Vand in the car for the last few races…

        1. Yeah right, I guess we’ll just forget that this will be the first year he’s been beaten by a team mate since 2012 – including last year when his team mate was FERNANDO ALONSO!

          1. Why has he been sacked then? And he has been sacked!! Why didnt they sack FA

            1. Because he hasn’t been sacked; Jenson said he initially told McLaren he wanted to retire and had to be negotiated down to a sabbatical.

          2. Given the quality of last year’s car, it’s not really fair to compare drivers @nick101.

    4. Raikkonen s front wing part could hit Hulkenberg in head like Justin Wilson last year, also if Occon hit Raikkonen that could be fatal like Indycar crash of Paul Dana 2006. Dana collided with Ed Carpenter’s disabled car after Carpenter’, thrusting the car into a retaining wall, before sliding to the bottom of the track.. Dana had hit debris from Carpenter’s car just before impact, which caused damage to the right-front suspension and prevented effective braking.

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