Button wants victory

Jenson Button says he will not be content unless he wins this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix and Brawn reverses Red Bull’s supremacy from the past two races.

Despite his two recent defeats the Briton still has a 21-point lead in the championship standings, but he is adamant that won’t be sufficient if Red Bull continues its current charge unabated.

Button therefore remains insistent that he and Brawn must continue to race aggressively for wins rather than playing a percentage game and settling for points finishes.

“If we finish behind the Red Bulls from now on, we don’t have a chance of winning the championship,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“We need to win races and we need to be aggressive, like we’ve been all season.

“That can’t stop. We come here looking for a victory and if I don’t beat the Red Bulls I won’t be happy.”


Brawn’s biggest problem at Silverstone and the Nurburgring was generating enough tyre temperature in the cold conditions, particularly on the harder rubber which has a higher operating range.

With baking sunshine greeting the F1 fraternity in Budapest on Thursday, Button is optimistic Brawn will be more competitive this weekend.

And he noted that after two races where low tyre temperatures were a concern, here the focus is likely to return to protecting tyre life and minimising degradation.

“This race is still going to be about tyre management, as it has been all season,” he said.

“If it’s warm like this then looking after the tyres going to be very difficult for everyone.

“Our car is reasonably good at looking after the tyres and we’ve got reasonable temps, so hopefully we can take the challenge to Red Bull.”

Brawn is introducing a more significant car upgrade than Red Bull in Hungary as it tries to regain the upper hand after its rival’s breakthrough at Silverstone.

Button admits this weekend will be a litmus test of Brawn’s competitiveness and championship credentials, but is confident the Brackley-based team will rise to the challenge.

“If we haven’t made a step forward here and can’t challenge Red Bull for the win then it’s going to be very difficult, because I’m sure they’ve got another step coming in a couple of races,” he said.

“If we can’t keep up with their development then we’re going to struggle, but I think we have got good development, we know it’s important to throw as much at the car as we can, and everyone back at Brackley is doing a great job.

“They’re very focused, they’ve been much tougher times than we’re having right now, so they know the situation and they’re doing a great job.

“I think our step forward this weekend will be enough to challenge the Red Bulls, which is great, and then we’ve got another one in Valencia.”

Button added: “I think we’re the strongest team under pressure and that will show over the next few races.”