Button counting on hotter race day

Date published : 21 Jun 2009 - 08:20:41

Jenson Button has warned the British fans that his struggles will continue in today's race unless conditions are significantly warmer than yesterday.

The championship leader has endured his most difficult weekend of 2009 so far, and has been unable to generate sufficient temperature in his tyres all weekend. Having struggled to break into the top ten in practice, he will start sixth today.

"I just can't get the tyres working and they're out of the operating range," said Button. "That is the reason why I'm struggling, so I'm looking for a hotter race day.

"Hopefully we'll have it seven or eight degrees hotter on track, which would help me enormously. "

If the temperatures aren't good, I don't think we'll ever get into a working range." Red Bull - Brawn's only realistic title rival - has dominated the Silverstone weekend so far while Button has grappled with his cold rubber. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber's team introduced a host of upgrades for the British Grand Prix, but Button thinks this weekend's results are a consequence of the weather rather than a sign that the revised Red Bull has usurped the Brawn as the car to beat. "I think they would be quick here anyway without the upgrade," he said.

"I don't think [the gap] is as big as it looks. "Their car is very good at these temperatures so they would have had the pace on us here anyway. "For sure their package has improved, but if it was something like a 40 degree track temperature I don't think they would have such an advantage."

Although conditions are expected to be warmer for the race, Button said his realistic aim was to minimise the points loss rather than to challenge Vettel for victory. "I just want to score some good points so I don't lose too much to the Red Bull," he admitted. "It might come a little bit more our way in the race, but it's not going to be hot like Turkey so we definitely won't have an advantage."