Button Laments Davidson's Problems

Briton Jenson Button lamented the problems that hit BAR's test driver Anthony Davidson in today's practice for the British Grand Prix.

Davidson, usually the man in charge of carrying out tyre testing for the Brackley-based outfit on Fridays, succumbed to a gearbox problem early in the second practice session.

The British test driver was unable to complete his programme, which meant Button and his team will have to work harder tomorrow.

"We completed most of our tyre work today but it's a shame about Anthony's problem," said Button, fifth fastest today. "I think we know the direction we're heading in, we just have a lot more work to do to optimise the car in time for qualifying.

"The support from the crowd has been fantastic already and we just have to keep focused and do everything we can to build on today's performance and get stronger as we head into the race."

Button's teammate Takuma Sato wound up ninth, the Japanese driver claiming he was expecting to be more competitive at Silverstone.

"We hoped we would be stronger here today after the positive tests we had earlier in the season," admitted Sato. "The car isn't performing as well as we'd hoped and we have a lot more work to do to be more competitive for qualifying and the race, as we are looking for a podium finish here.

"We didn't complete the full tyre evaluation but hopefully there is enough data between the three of us to confirm our choice for tomorrow."