Jenson Button said his race was heavily compromised when his KERS unit failed half way through the European Grand Prix.
Button was running sixth close behind Felipe Massa when his KERS failed, costing him around half a second a lap. His race position had already been affected by Nico Rosberg beating him in to turn three, meaning he was cut adrift from the leading pack by the time he made his way back past the Mercedes on lap 6. Button said that the move on Rosberg was the most exciting part of the afternoon for him.
"I got a reasonable start, but the field bunched up into Turn Two and I was stuck on the outside, where I lost out to Nico," Button said. "I didn't have enough straightline speed to be able to overtake him easily, but I braked really late and got him into Turn Two, which I don't think he was expecting. That was the highlight of the race for me."
Despite his difficulties, Button said that he was encouraged by the final gap to Massa, but warned McLaren needed to find more performance before the British Grand Prix in a fortnight.
"I had decent race pace after that, and I pushed the Option tyres for as long as I could. Then halfway through the race I lost KERS Hybrid, which hurt me not only on corner exits but also under braking. So it wasn't a fun race, all told - but, given the way the car felt, it's a pleasant surprise to finish only eight seconds behind one of the Ferraris. Nevertheless, we've got a bit of work to do before Silverstone."
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