Button frustrated after more misery

Button, whose race had already been compromised after he failed to qualify higher than 19th, managed to recover to 11th position before he retired with a mechanical problem on lap 63.

The retirement meant Button has now failed to finish in the points in five consecutive races.

"With the package that we had this weekend, we were doing a decent job today and were definitely going better in the race than in qualifying," said Button. "I was up to 11th and catching up with Scott Speed in front of me and I think we could have got him.

"I felt a loss of power as I came onto the back straight and as I was changing up through the gears, the power just went. We'll have to see the data later to find out exactly what the problem was.

"It's really frustrating because although we were struggling in the first stint, we were much better in the second and third stints after the pitstops.

"The car is feeling reasonable and the balance is there, it's just a lack of overall speed. That comes from engine power and downforce, and that's what we're lacking at the moment, along with reliability. It's massively frustrating, not just for me, but the whole team who have worked so hard this weekend."

Barrichello completed a dismal weekend dismal weekend for the Japanese squad, the Brazilian also retiring with an engine-related problem just 19 laps into the race.

"It's difficult to know at the moment what the problem was but it looks like the engine because there was a lot of smoke and I lost all the power," he said. "We were hoping for a better pace in the race but the whole weekend has just not gone as planned which is very sad.

"I believe in this team and we will react to this. I am very concentrated and motivated, and I really believe that we will turn the corner. We have to keep our feet on the ground, keep our motivation high and keep working at it."