Button: We can claw back points
2012-10-12 08:32
STILL IN THE TITLE HUNT: Jenson Button has come to terms that his title hunt is over but he is still determined to help McLaren win the constructors' championship.
Author: Alan Baldwin
YEONGAM, South Korea - Jenson Button has focused on trying to win McLaren its first Formula 1 Constructors' title since 1998 after accepting he's little chance of winning the 2012 Drivers' title.
The 2009 World champion is 63 points behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with five races, worth 125 points in total, still to come.
McLaren is second in the Constructors' standings, a far less large 41 behind champions Red Bull with 43 available at every race.
TITLE CHASE CONTINUES
Button said: "We can claw that back (the deficit) in one race, that's the great thing, if Lewis (Hamilton) and I get a good result and those two (the Red Bull drivers) don't. The Constructors' is definitely on and that's the big aim I think... when I get out of the car at the end of the race and look at the points, that's the bit I really look at.
"Winning the Drivers' championship is such a slim opportunity... if it happens, it happens but I'm not going to get too excited about it."
Hamilton is fourth overall, 42 behind Alonso, after finishing fifth in Japan with Button fourth. Red Bull still scored five more points thanks to Sebastian Vettel winning and Australian Mark Webber coming ninth.
Red Bull was dominant in Suzuka, with double World champion Vettel winning from pole and setting the fastest lap but Hamilton was far from downcast after discovering that his car had a mechanical problem. The 2008 champion was particularly relieved that the problem had been traced to a particular part and that his car's lack of pace was attributable to it rather than a mistake in set-up choices.
Hamilton, winner of three races so far in 2012, had blamed himself after Suzuka for going in a wrong direction.
Hamilton said: "I know my car really well so I know... it's very rare that I get it wrong and if I do it's only a little bit wrong and I can still manage with it, but this was worse than I had ever set it up and I was really shocked that I had done that and thought it was my fault. Fortunately after the race the guys did an analysis and found that we had a failure of part of the rear suspension.
"That's comforting because it means I'm not crazy and happy that we found it so it won't be a problem this weekend."
Stay with Wheels24 for the Korean Grand Prix weekend.
