Formula One news

Disappointed Button fifth on grid

Jenson Button's pole chain was cut short on Saturday in China after Sebastian Vettel took the top spot for Red Bull. Although a greater challenge was expected from his rivals, championship leader Button did not expect to be starting the race from the third row of the grid.

"It's not quite as good as what I expected," Button told the BBC shortly after climbing from the cockpit. "The Red Bulls were quick yesterday, we were watching them in the high speed corners and they were very, very fast; if you at Q2 it looked like they had two or three tenths on us, and it's not us driving around slowly or having a lot of fuel in the car because it's Q2, and you run with low fuel, so they are going to be tough to beat - we knew they were competitive, but we didn't think quite that competitive!"
Without a double diffuser or KERS, the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull is clearly flying in Shanghai although Button recognised the cars' speed some time ago. "It's not a shock because they were quick in the first race as well, and in the second I don't think they really got it together," Jenson continued. "In Melbourne they were quick, quite competitive, not as much as they are here; but every circuit is different and it seems their car is working on this type of circuit."

The Englishman concluded that it is a "pity" that he starts behind the Red Bulls this weekend, as he feels Shanghai's track is one on which it is difficult to overtake.

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