Delighted Button says tyre call was his

The Briton was the first man to pit for slicks when the track began to dry up following an early shower, and the decision paid off as he found himself in the lead once his rivals had pitted.

Button said the decision had been his and was delighted to have made it.

"It was," said Button of the decision. "I think it is a lot easier for the drivers to feel the conditions. Teams can see clouds coming in but we can feel what is coming in. I didn't have balance at all on inters, so I thought let's get in and stick slicks on.

"There was a dry line but a few places were wet. When I went into pits I thought it was a catastrophic decision as it was wet in the pitlane but once I got up to speed it was pretty good. I was able to put in some laps and overtake a few cars.

"It was the right call - I'm very happy to have made it."

The world champion, in his second race with McLaren, admitted the victory felt special and believes it will boost his confidence even more.

"It is very special," he added. "It has taken me a little while to get to grips inside the car, but the team has been fantastic and welcomed me in.

"It is difficult to put it into words, it is a very special feeling and we will take a lot from this. I feel I am building in confidence, and I hope in the next rate we can do something similar as this feels too good."

He claimed pitting again, like team-mate Lewis Hamilton did, was never an option for him.

"For me I never thought of putting on another set. It was to run the race on one set of tyres if we could. My pace was not great. Once I settled into the car I felt I was starting to damage the tyres. I settled into pace that would not destroy the rears.

"We could not have done a better strategy. My decision at the beginning was my call but with a lot of feedback from the circuit. I need to thank McLaren for all our hard work. It's good to see us get a result for the hard work."