Jenson Button believed the decision to start the British Grand Prix behind the safety car was the right call, but felt it was wrong to leave it out so long before allowing the drivers to race.
The McLaren-Honda driver was unable to perform his usual magic in mixed conditions at Silverstone, finishing down in twelfth, but felt that had he started higher than seventeenth after his qualifying issues, he could have made an impact on the points scorers.
“It was definitely the right decision to start the race behind the Safety Car – it was super-wet and there was loads of standing water, but I think it should have been recalled two laps earlier,” said Button.
“Then, when the Safety Car pitted, everyone boxed for Inters, so I decided to do the opposite, which was a good thing as I overtook a couple of cars. For the second stop, it was better to stop sooner rather than later, but I was stuck behind Valterri [Bottas], so I stayed out for another lap.
“My race wasn’t helped by starting 17th: to get into the points, we need to qualify inside the top 10, hold on in the race, not make mistakes and hope to stay there. I couldn’t really close on the cars in front of me because we don’t yet have quite enough pace in the car to make up sufficient places in the race.
“It wasn’t an easy afternoon, but it was great to see all the fans cheering at the end. They got a British victory as well, so I’m sure they’re very happy.”
