(McLaren Mercedes)
McLaren Mercedes Jenson Button was left disappointed after just missing out on a podium finish at the Japanese Grand Prix over the weekend. The 2009 world champion drove a fantastic race to finish in 5th place just behind Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo. Speaking following the race Button commented:
'I haven’t seen anything of Jules’ accident, but the most important thing to say is that all our thoughts are with him, his family, and his team right now.
“It’s an accident that you hope never happens in Formula 1.'
Kevin Magnussen, who started the race from 7th on the grid was left disappointed as he ended the race in 14th place. The Dane said after the race:
'Let’s really hope that Jules is okay. It’s such a bad feeling when something like this happens, so let’s hope and pray for him.
“We did the best we could today, but we had an unfortunate problem with the steering wheel, which basically dropped me out of the race. I tried my best to come back, and get some points, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible to do so.'
McLaren Mercedes Racing director Eric Boullier stated that the team are thinking about Jules Bianchi, his family and the entire Marussia F1 Team. Speaking about the race, Boullier stated:
'More important than anything else, on behalf of everyone at McLaren I want to say how shocked and sorry we were to hear the news of Jules’ accident. Our hearts go out to him, of course, to his family, and to all at Marussia.
“As far as today’s race was concerned, Jenson was the first driver in the field to stop to fit Intermediates, and, having done so, thereafter he drove very well all afternoon. Indeed, he may well have finished third had things panned out better for us at the end of the race in terms of Safety Car and pit-stop timing.
“Even so, the 10 points he scored for fifth place may well be useful to us in our efforts to move up the Constructors’ Championship table.
“By contrast, Kevin had a disappointing afternoon. From early in the race his car began to develop electronics issues, which we attempted to ameliorate by replacing his steering wheel in an unscheduled pit-stop.
“After that he was always going to be playing catch-up – and, although he pulled off some good moves, especially his overtake of Daniel [Ricciardo], he was never going to be in with a chance of scoring points here today.
“From here we go to Sochi [Russia], where we’ll all be hoping for a much better weekend, from every point of view.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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