"It was messy out
there"
Despite starting 12th, a
brilliantly mature drive by Jenson netted him sixth position at the chequered
flag.
Jenson was immediately on the
move; he tangled with Sergio Perez at Mirabeau on the opening lap, but was able
to continue, then moved into the top 10 following Sebastian Vettel’s
retirement. He went ninth when Daniil Kvyat also retired, and timed his pitstop
to perfection, switching from Primes to Options just as the Safety Car boards
went out at the pit entry.
Nonetheless, he was still jumped
by Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India, to run ninth. He slowly made places (running
eighth after Jean-Eric Vergne took his drive-through, then seventh following
Felipe Massa’s late pitstop) and then capitalized on a late-race problem for
Kevin to secure sixth at the flag.
Kevin jumped to seventh at the
start by brilliantly driving around the outside of Daniil Kvyat at Ste Devote
and was elevated to sixth when Vettel retired.
During the flurry of stops that
followed the second Safety Car period of the race, he switched to Options at
his stop. However, traffic in the pitlane delayed his release, and he was
jumped by Jean-Eric Vergne. Kev jumped Vergne at the end of the Safety Car
period, but made the move before it was permissible, and was required by the
team to cede the place back. As he was doing this, he was also passed by
Hulkenberg, who demoted Kevin to eighth by opportunistically out-braking him at
the inside of the second Portier.
Thereafter, Kevin trailed
Hulkenberg, closing the German down in the closing laps as his Option tires
began to fade. He was less than a second behind when he encountered a problem
with his power-unit, which toppled him down the order. On lap 73, he tangled
with Kimi Raikkonen, as the Finn tried unsuccessfully to slice down the inside
at the hairpin. Both ended up lodged in the barriers, forcing Kevin to reverse
back onto the track. He eventually finished 10th.
JENSON BUTTON, MP4-29-04
Started: 12th
Finished: 6th
Fastest Lap: 1m21.047s on lap 42 (+2.568s, 12th)
Pitstops: One: lap 25 (2.80s) [Opt-Pri]
Points: 31
"For the entirety of my final stint, I looked after my tires and dropped back into the clear air behind Kevin. Then it was just about pacing myself to the end. I couldn't quite get past Nico [Hulkenberg] at the end – he was struggling with his tires, but whenever I pushed, I struggled as well, so I couldn't make it stick.
"This was a typical Monaco Grand Prix – it was messy out there; people were making mistakes; there were cars all over the place; you had to stay focused; keep up with the pack, and look after the tires, using them when necessary.
"In the closing laps, we had
a good little battle, but it’s so tough when you’re shoved up behind another
car. It’s difficult enough as it is, but when you can’t really see anything
because there’s a car in front, it’s even more difficult.
"This wasn't a bad
result for us – I just wish I could have picked off Nico at the end. It’s just
a pity that Kevin’s late-race problem meant we couldn't get more points for
both cars at the finish."
Started: 8th
Finished: 10th
Fastest Lap: 1m20.657s on lap 75 (+2.178s, 8th)
Pitstops: One: lap 26 (6.76s) [Opt-Pri]
Points: 21
"There were lots of little
issues – Jean-Eric’s team probably didn't calculate his release properly – it’s
never the driver’s fault – it’s just one of those things that happens. And it
was a pity I didn't get to finish the battle with Nico [Hulkenberg]; I’d been
saving my tires in the expectation that Nico would struggle, but then I had a
problem with my power-unit, which dropped me back."Despite a lot of things
going against us today – the long hold due to traffic at my pitstop, the unsafe
release in front of me in the pitlane, and the engine issue – I can draw a lot
from the fact that our car felt really good. That’s a real positive: it might
be hard to see from the outside, but things are moving forward within the team.
"I’m still not really sure
what happened with my car at the end of the race. And I didn't see what
happened with Kimi – I went to the inside to block his entry into the hairpin,
but he chose to make a move anyway. It’s hard to overtake here, but he tried
and it didn't work. That’s racing."
ERIC BOULLIER - Racing Director, McLaren Mercedes
"Sixth and 10th isn't
where we want to be, but we have to be realistic and acknowledge that this was
a good performance – both from the perspective of the team, who worked
brilliantly together, and also from both drivers, who drove tenaciously all
weekend.
"Finishing 10th will be
tough for Kevin to accept – he looked set for at least sixth place until the
closing laps, when a problem with his power-unit dropped him down the order in
quick succession. Fortunately, we were able to rectify the problem so he could
proceed, but the incident with Kimi obviously didn't help.
"As usual, Jenson showed all
his customary flair and experience to relentlessly move up the order from 12th on
the grid. He was always well positioned to benefit from the incidents and
action ahead of him, and judged the second Safety Car [to recover Adrian
Sutil’s damaged car] to perfection, choosing to dive into the pits at exactly
the right time.
"Finally, I just want to
pass on my congratulations to Jules Bianchi, John Booth, Graeme Lowdon and
everybody at the Marussia team for scoring their very first world championship
points today. Jules drove fantastically all weekend, and ninth place was a
fantastic reward – not only for Jules’ charging drive, but also for the team’s
efforts all season to improve and develop their car.
"They’re a fantastic bunch
of guys, and they really deserve this today."
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