Jenson Button secured his best finish of the season with a good performance at the Red Bull Ring as the McLaren-Honda driver took sixth place on Sunday.
The Briton had made a good start from his third place on the grid to run second during the early laps, but found himself easy prey to his rivals when the DRS was activated, losing places to the Red Bull’s, Ferrari’s and Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.
But the Briton held on for a strong result, and despite losing fifth in the closing stages when Daniel Ricciardo overtook him once more after making a second pit stop to Button’s single stop, was happy to get a good haul of points.
“I knew the race was going to be difficult – starting near the front definitely helps because you can race in clear air and do your own thing a little bit more, but, with two DRS zones around this place, we couldn’t keep the other cars behind,” said Button.
“While our pace was okay, once a car came past, they could overtake in places we never knew were possible.
“Nonetheless, we beat the Williams cars on sheer pace, and I think we did a great job today with our race strategy. We really got the maximum from everything. Through every session, we’ve been improving; every run we’ve done, we made the car better and better.
“We did a great job all weekend, but we know that we head to Silverstone not expecting to be in this position next week.”
