Button laments lost opportunity

The Honda Racing driver got his wish of having a wet race but, after having qualified strongly, the Briton was unable to repeat the feat on Sunday.

Button endured a troubled race which included technical problems and a crash with BMW's Nick Heidfeld, the Honda driver having to settle for a disappointing 11th position.

"It's hugely frustrating that we weren't able to take advantage of our strong qualifying performance in the race today," said Button. "The conditions and visibility were so bad that it felt really dangerous out there and it was really difficult to keep the tyres warm enough to be effective.

"I had already lost my front wing after a coming-together with Heidfeld, then I had an engine sensor problem which put me back in last place. I had to come in to get a new nose and after that it was just a case of trying to stay on the road and pick up positions where possible.

"All in all it's a real shame as we could have scored some points today but we take some comfort from a good performance yesterday which put a smile on the team's faces."

Teammate Rubens Barrichello completed a dismal day for Honda, the Brazilian finishing in tenth after having to pit for fuel in the final laps of the race.

"I'm obviously disappointed that our strategy did not work out today but to be honest, in my view, the race should have been stopped very early on," he said. "The conditions were so difficult and it was impossible to see anything for the entire race.

"We tried to work the conditions to our advantage but the decisions did not work out today. We will put this race behind us now and focus on next weekend in China."