Q & A with Jenson Button

JB: Of course it is. I don't know if you watched the race but we had a few issues. The first stop we had a wheel-nut problem on one of the tyres which lost us about three, four, five seconds and on the second pitstop the fuel nozzle was still on.

The chief mechanic lifted the lollipop so I went and took a few of the mechanics with me. I stopped in the pitlane waiting for them to come and take it off but it took a little while so we lost a few seconds in that as well.

That is 20 seconds and when you lose 20 seconds in a race then is pretty tough to make that back up and you are in the wrong position, with traffic, where you would not normally be. The race was going well, I know it was a short first stint but it was working really well for us. The first two stints were very good for us and I think we would have been up there fighting with Massa and Montoya.

Q. What are the prospects for the next race?

JB: It is difficult, we keep saying that it is a tough weekend, we didn't get the result, but there is a lot of potential in the car. It doesn't make any difference if you are not going to be finishing where you want to. It was a difficult weekend and having two issues in the race which cost us a lot of time is disappointing.

I did everything I possibly could, I was driving every lap like a qualifying lap and it is tough around here to do that. It is difficult to be consistent, but a couple of mistakes like that cost you three points. It is disappointing and we have got to make sure that we don't have issues like that again. We won't be getting podiums and we won't be challenging for the wins if we are doing the same thing.

Q. Are you just unlucky?

JB: Unlucky? I don't know if it is luck or if we just haven't got our act together. We thought we were ready for this year and maybe we have just made one too many mistakes so far, but hopefully we have got them all out of the way and we can have a good race at the Nurburgring.

We have kept saying there is a lot of potential in the car and it is competitive and I am doing the best job I possibly can, but it is just not complete at the moment. There is a few things we need to resolve before we go racing next at the Nurburgring.

Q. After the second stop, how difficult was to keep your concentration?

JB: It was difficult and the car got a little bit damaged, the barge board. It changed the feeling of the car, it didn't help the rear stability in any way so it was tough to drive in that situation, especially when you know you would have been challenging for a podium. It is difficult but we have got to keep going, it is not like it is the first time. You realise you just have to push 100 percent all the time.

Q. How was the car in the race?

JB: The car was working well. I mean, the first stint was good, the car was working well and we had a good balance, so that is why it is disappointing that we have got this result and there is nothing else to really say.

Q. What can you expect for the Nurburgring?

JB: I don't know, we have to see. We have got testing this week at Silverstone. I am doing Tuesday and Wednesday, and I have got to get off home in a minute so I have to go and hopefully it is going to be a good test for us, there is a lot of interest in the things we are doing, looking at the set-up, so it is going to be a busy weekend for us and it is stuff that is going to help us at the Nurburgring.

We just cannot make any mistakes when we arrive there, it has to be a faultless weekend, we need that if we are to have any chance of getting podiums and having the chance of challenging for the win.

Q. Do you feel dejected?

JB: Yeah, definitely. Everyone is the same in the team, you can put the blame on one person or what have you. I am going into the factory tomorrow and hopefully everyone is going to be there so we can have a little chat about the way things are going so far this year. It will be a sort of motivational speech because I am sure everyone needs it.

Hopefully it will make the difference, the car has the pace and in qualifying I know we were running low fuel but compared to the Renaults, they stopped on lap 24/25, if you take that into account we would have done a similar level in qualifying.

The pace is there on one lap, it is just getting it right in the race. We have got good pace in the race as well, not as good as the Renault not as good as Michael, but it is pretty good. It is good enough to be up there fighting for a podium, but we are not even getting that result because we are making mistakes and we have got to resolve that issue because that is what is costing us a lot of points this season.

It is not something that we are shying away from, we know we have issues and everyone in the team is working hard to try and solve that. Tomorrow will be an interesting meeting with the whole team and hopefully we can clear the things up, they are a team that work hard and they will give everything to work it out, we just need to make fewer mistakes but it is not from being slack or not trying hard enough, definitely not.

Q. What happened with the lollipop man?

JB: I don't know. I think he saw the fuel nozzle move and he lifted it, so it is a tough one - and it is even tougher on the mechanics. A few of them have got some bruises but they are not too hurt which is good.

Anyway, that is something that we can resolve straight away and he is a guy who works so hard on pit-stops, he has done thousands of these things and that is one mistake in all the years I have been here, you cannot be too hard on the guy, it won't happen again.

Q. If you had finished in Australia then you would have three more points in the championship...

JB: It is easy to say that now, though. If we are fighting for a podium position, which we would have been if we didn't have the fuel problem, then you would not have asked me that question. We definitely did the right thing...if we could have crossed the line. We were in a good position here starting second on the grid and having the possibility of a podium finish.

Q. Is it disappointing after Honda qualified second and third?

JB: We are looking at a podium, that was the aim, we knew that Michael would be quick, we knew that the Renaults would be quick, the Renault is a quick car and it won the first three races of the year, so it is obvious they are quick. We are not as quick as the Renaults at the moment and around here were are not quite as quick as the Ferraris.

Q. Was winning out of the question?

JB: Definitely. I don't know how far I would have finished behind them but it would have been 17-18 seconds, we are not on their pace yet.

Q. Are you confident of improving in the next few races?

JB: There will be improvements and we have to see if they are good enough. We cannot say we are going to be quicker than them at the next race, we don't know. We have a three-day test and hopefully we can improve the car to catch them up or get close to them at least.

Q. Did you expect to be only fighting for the podium when you came into the season?

JB: No, when we came into the season we thought we would be challenging for wins at every race. I think we were pretty close to that in the first two races, Melbourne we were not quick at all because of the temperatures, here we were not quick enough to win the race, but look at Fisichella - he has won a race this year and he is in the quickest car. I am giving everything and the team are working very hard but we are just not there yet.

Q. Will there be hard words tomorrow?

JB: Definitely. We need to say what our problems are and there is no use pointing the finger at one person, because we can be sure it won't happen again. The guy probably feels terrible I think and he doesn't deserve to feel that bad.

We all make mistakes. It is motivational really, so they know I am still very positive and I am not going to sit back and say, 'it doesn't matter anymore, we cannot win races.' I am still pushing and that is why I am going in to tell them that.

Q. What about the championship?

JB: Alonso has 35 points or something...after four races you would say that is a big margin but then again it has happened before, so it is too early to talk about the championship for anyone. You wouldn't even say to Alonso, it is easy for you you are going to win the championship, it is not necessarily the case. We have had four races and there are 14 to go.

Q. Are Ferrari back?

JB: They are quick and they had a great strategy, but if you look at the race pace they are not as quick as the Renaults, they had a better strategy I think.