Jenson Button believes his third pitstop may have cost him a shot at winning the race after a sticky wheel nut delayed his exit.
The McLaren driver finished second to Nico Rosberg with a deficit of 20 seconds, but a slow stop lasting ten seconds meant he fed back into a competitive pack of cars which cost him a further few seconds and ruined any chance of catching Rosberg to challenge for the win.
“I came to the marks [in the pits], but we had a problem at the rear of the car so I sat there for nine or 10 seconds, I think it was. It was a pity because when I exited the pits I had four cars in front of me,” he said after the race.
“[They were] cars that I wouldn’t have been racing and I would have had a nice clear track to hopefully hunt down Nico.
“We made it harder for ourselves in the last stint with a long pitstop, but these things happen.”
Despite finishing second and losing out on challenging for his second win of the season, Button admitted it was an enjoyable race.
“It was a great race,” added Button. “We went for a three-stop strategy which was different. It was really good fun even with the problem we had, but I am happy to come home second, it was a good fight and most of it very clean, which is good to see.”
