McLaren confident of overtaking Red Bull
Button confident of closing gap at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are confident they can close the gap with Red Bull at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to ESPNF1.
Button managed to set the fastest lap at the Indian Grand Prix as he finished fifth and just 26 seconds behind winner Sebastian Vettel after he was stuck behind Romain Grosjean’s Lotus. With the car displaying good pace on the hard tyre, Button believes McLaren can erase the gap.
“I think this will be another closely matched race,” said Button. “India showed us that the gap between the top three teams is extremely close at the moment, so I wouldn’t like to predict the exact pecking order.
“I think Red Bull will go into the weekend with a slight advantage, but I’m confident that, with a clear run through practice, we can be right up there too.
“One of the most satisfying aspects of the Indian Grand Prix was that we could battle cleanly at the front — that was fantastic. While it’ll be quite tough to overtake around here, I’m hopeful that we can have another great battle, which would be fantastic for the fans.”
Hamilton was closer to the front last weekend, finishing just behind third-placed Mark Webber. Having won in Abu Dhabi last year he too believes that Red Bull can be beaten.
“It’s a track where you can really push the car, which is what I enjoy most,” said Hamilton. “Good mechanical balance makes all the difference here because you’re always changing direction.
“This has also been a place where Red Bull have traditionally gone well, but our race pace was very strong throughout in New Delhi. I really enjoyed in India – fourth place may have been little reward for 60 laps of flat-out effort, but I couldn’t have gone any faster. I feel confident that we can pull together a strong race weekend in Abu Dhabi.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2012.
Button managed to set the fastest lap at the Indian Grand Prix as he finished fifth and just 26 seconds behind winner Sebastian Vettel after he was stuck behind Romain Grosjean’s Lotus. With the car displaying good pace on the hard tyre, Button believes McLaren can erase the gap.
“I think this will be another closely matched race,” said Button. “India showed us that the gap between the top three teams is extremely close at the moment, so I wouldn’t like to predict the exact pecking order.
“I think Red Bull will go into the weekend with a slight advantage, but I’m confident that, with a clear run through practice, we can be right up there too.
“One of the most satisfying aspects of the Indian Grand Prix was that we could battle cleanly at the front — that was fantastic. While it’ll be quite tough to overtake around here, I’m hopeful that we can have another great battle, which would be fantastic for the fans.”
Hamilton was closer to the front last weekend, finishing just behind third-placed Mark Webber. Having won in Abu Dhabi last year he too believes that Red Bull can be beaten.
“It’s a track where you can really push the car, which is what I enjoy most,” said Hamilton. “Good mechanical balance makes all the difference here because you’re always changing direction.
“This has also been a place where Red Bull have traditionally gone well, but our race pace was very strong throughout in New Delhi. I really enjoyed in India – fourth place may have been little reward for 60 laps of flat-out effort, but I couldn’t have gone any faster. I feel confident that we can pull together a strong race weekend in Abu Dhabi.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2012.