By Phil Huff (26/09/2004)
September 26 2004

Jenson Button sat in on the Podium press conference for the eighth time this season, sitting alongside race winner Barrichello and third place Raikkonen. Here's what he had to say... Jenson, we now know you had more fuel than anybody else in qualifying, so it was a great qualifying lap and a fantastic race. That middle stint, with so much fuel on board for you...

It was a very tough race. When you know the other guys out there are doing a three-stop and you are doing two it does make it fairly difficult mentally because you have got so much weight on board and it was pretty tough. Especially the last stint when Rubens was putting in some good laps, being able to push was almost impossible because with that much weight you get a lot of understeer and it was pretty tough.

In the closing stages of the race you were catching him very impressively. Were you thinking there in the end, 'yeah, we can do it here'?

I didn't really know if he was just backing off or if he was just slow at that time. I was just concentrating on the queue behind. Trying to close the gap was very difficult because suddenly he would put in some very quick laps then towards the end I was able to pick up the pace a little bit. But it was a good race for us and I was very happy to get second. But, you know, the starts have been a bit of a problem lately for us and to lose two places off the start, almost three places, was disastrous for us really and it is something we need to work. But if we have that we will be a lot closer to challenging for our first win.

Was that a function in any way of carrying more fuel at the start?

I don't really think so. I don't think it makes a huge difference in a way but it is something we have to work on and we know that. Hopefully we can sort that problem out by Japan and we will be rocketing off the line and be up with these guys.

What was the thinking behind the two stop strategy; did you think everybody else was going to do three?

The thinking behind it was that we thought it was quicker, that was the reason why we did it. We weren't sure what these two guys were going to do pit-stop wise and at one point I saw them pit on lap 12 and come out extremely quickly after a short fill, so I realised that they were probably on three stops, so I was pretty happy. It does put you under a little bit more pressure I think, with a heavy fuel load which is tough because the car is a lot heavier. But for me it was a good race. Towards the end Rubens seem to be very very quick and was able to pull that gap out on me when I had made both my stops and he still had to pit and when I saw I was 27s behind Rubens, I knew it was going to be very difficult when he finally stopped.

Yet, you were catching him towards the end, although you were being caught as well.

Obviously your main aim is to win the race so my main aim was to catch Rubens but I also had my mirrors full of Kimi at the end. He was putting in some very quick laps at the end and it was very difficult, very difficult, because I knew if I caught Rubens it would be very difficult to overtake and I would also lose downforce in the high speed corners and Kimi would be a lot closer so it was tough but coming home second is good for the team and we have scored some good points.

In fact you overtook Alonso, was that fairly easy?

Yeah, it was a fantastic feeling. The car's been good and I think this circuit is, for me. I found it reasonably easy to overtake. The car and myself were quick coming onto the back straight round that long righthander so it made it easy to overtake at the end of the straight.

For the last 90 minutes you have been one of the fastest three drivers in all of China, but at other times this weekend, and tonight when you go back to the hotel or the airport, you have to be driven because you're not allowed to drive in this country. What has it been like to be a passenger for the last few days? (Laughter)

Their driving is very interesting. It's very different to what we get in Europe. Every inch they use which is quite impressive. I don't know if they would be good racing drivers or the opposite really. Our driver is quite good, we have this big Honda wagon and we can lie down in the back so I'm quite chilled. I just close my eyes and I'm fine, no problem with the long journey in.

How do you judge the performances of your team-mate?

Looking at the positions, I think Takuma did a good job finishing sixth. That was the team's aim, I think, to get him into sixth position, so he must have had a reasonable race.

He was behind you at one point.

Right behind me, I was scared.

What do you think sets this track apart from others?

A lot of the new circuits have been an improvement for overtaking which is fantastic for Formula One. This circuit is one of them and for me, the toughest part of the circuit is the quick left, the quick right and then you've got the two double lefts, the slow ones, because in those corners I don't breathe so I'm finding it quite difficult. You can't take a breath so it's pretty physical in that respect and I think we put on a good show today, so it's obviously a very good race circuit.

You nearly won again, how many times have you finished second this year? How do you see your chances in the last two races? Maybe you can have a win before you move on.

I have had four second places. It's always nice getting on the podium but I wouldn't say I am getting fed up with finishing second or third but I'm pushing very very hard for that win, as every driver is. And yeah, we've been close on a few occasions, but I think it's shown in this race that we are not quite there yet. I think the Ferrari does have the legs on us, so yeah, we've got a bit of work to do. It has been a good year all round and there's a possibility in the last two races that we can win a race but as always, it is going to be very tough against Ferrari and also McLaren.

Considering the next two races, how confident are you for the team to keep second position in the championship?

Reasonably confident. Our car seems to work well on most circuits. I am confident we can do a good job in the next two, be consistent. I think we picked up some pretty good points here, eleven points. I don't know how many Renault got, but I know we pulled out a good gap so I am pretty happy about that and I think the team is. We've just got to stay consistent, focused and also relaxed and not get too excited.

Is there anything you were not satisfied with in the first Chinese Grand Prix?

It is a long way in. I heard there might be a train next year – is that correct? – from the centre to here which would be fantastic.