McLaren were left regretting their decision to leave their drivers in the garage whilst the majority of the grid went out to set a banker lap.
Qualifying started with a fairly wet track, but reports suggested the rain would slow toward the end of the session. McLaren along with Ferrari decided it would be best to release their cars at the end of the session when the track would be at it’s driest.
That was a decision which both teams would later regret. The rain failed to wane, instead it intensified and Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton struggled in the poor conditions.
Button managed to set a time quick enough for a Q2 slot, but later slid off the track, beaching his MP4-25 in the gravel – ending his day on a bad note.
“I just aquaplaned off and got stuck in the gravel,” said Button. “I couldn’t do anything about it. I just hope I haven’t damaged anything on the car because I was sat in the gravel with the engine running for some time, hoping to get pulled out.”
Hamilton faired no better, in fact he failed to even set a time satisfactory enough for Q2. He spun a number of times and lamented his team’s decision for a second race in a row.
“We went out at a similar time to the other top teams, and as a result quite a lot of us were all out of luck.
“By the time I got out there, there were lots of yellow flags about, so you just couldn’t nail it – and then it started to rain more heavily. You couldn’t feel a thing –, it was so, so slippery. It was easy to come off – I had a spin on my first lap, in fact – but I did the best job I could in the circumstances.”
After the session, Hamilton looked fairly happy. No doubt the prospect of racing through the pack is something he is looking forward to.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and I’m going to race my heart out,” the Brit added.
