Happy Button Praises Renault

Jenson Button praised his Renault team for their work during Sunday's European Grand Prix, which allowed the young Brit to score two points with a fifth place finish.

"The team did a great job, especially with the set-up of the car," admitted Button. "It was hard for me at the start of the race but once the rear tyres had worn in a little and lost some grip, the balance was very good. The only problem was getting stuck behind Panis after my first stop.

"I couldn't get past him, and lost quite a lot of time because of it. Overall, I had a very good race, and the team did a fantastic job."

Button returned to the top six after three consecutive point-less races, and today's result was the third point-scoring finish in a row for the French squad. Italian Jarno Trulli, who had scored in the last two races in Monaco and Canada, today failed to repeat his feat.

Trulli made a costly mistake early in the race, losing several positions while running in the top eight, and although he recovered well, he could only manage to finish in eighth.

"I'm pleased that the team managed to score two more points today," said Trulli. "As for me, I made a good start but then lost a few positions in the first sector, and was eighth at the end of the first lap. Even so, the car was working well when I began to feel a misfire on lap three.

"That made me a little nervous, and I then locked up going into the first corner soon after and went off-track. Although the problems continued throughout the race, the car felt pretty strong nevertheless. In the end, it was my mistake which cost us points today."