Q & A with Jenson Button

AUTOSPORT heard from Button as he prepared for his last race with #22 on his Brawn-Mercedes.

Q. So you did write 'world champion' on your helmet in the end?

Jenson Button: Yeah, the Bell guy put it on my helmet! I quite like it. Bernie [Ecclestone] will disagree I am sure, but it looks good.

Q. How's the weekend been?

JB: It's been really good. The car is working well here and it is nothing compared to the McLaren. That has been staggeringly quick all weekend. I think we have looked good all weekend in practice because the strategy we did with the tyres, we looked quick - and we are quick compared to everyone else. It is just that the McLaren is so far in front.

In qualifying, Q1 and Q2, the car was working well. I was near the top in both, and I was happy with it. But in Q3 when I went out I had a massive vibration, which we are looking at now. We are hoping it is a wheel weight, or a couple of wheel weights as it cannot just be one, because as soon as I hit the brakes I had this massive shuddering on the steering wheel. When you have that, you lose a lot of front grip because the tyre is not in contact with the road. Hopefully it is that, and not the brakes - but I did lose brake power on the last stint compared to the previous few runs.

Q. How have you felt this weekend, inside yourself now that the championship is won?

JB: Really good. I have had a great weekend. It is annoying being fifth on the grid because I think we would have been on the front row with Lewis [Hamilton] - six tenths behind him still but we would have been on the front row. It is frustrating. I just hope we can sort the problem for the race because I cannot do a whole race like that. If we can sort it, I think we can have a fun race.

P5 is not that bad. It is the best qualifying I've had for many races, so I think we can have some fun with the Red Bulls. Lewis? I'm not sure we can challenge him, but the Red Bulls and Rubens [Barrichello], I think we can have a good race.

Q. So you reckon you can get on the podium at least?

JB: Yeah. I think that has to be the aim. I want to beat Lewis, and like any grand prix I want to win the race. But I think he is four or five tenths quicker than us, and that is what we thought going into qualifying as well. It is pretty much what we expected, which is not great obviously.

Q. How different will this December be to last December?

JB: It is going to be a great feeling. Hopefully I will be a lot more relaxed this winter, and there is obviously a lot of think about and stuff still to sort out for next year, but I am in a nice position. I am very relaxed and it will be great preparation for next year, for sure.

Q. This place has been fantastic to watch cars at. What is it like to drive?

JB: It is great. For me I am always trying to be as smooth as possible. But you can actually have a lot of fun here. I am oversteering in most corners. It is a real fun circuit to drive. Some of it feels very stop/start, but that is also fun. You have got a quick Turn 2/3, and there are some challenging corners here. I am not sure how the race will be, we have to wait and see, but hopefully there will be some overtaking opportunities into Turns 8 and 11, but we have to wait on that one.

Q. Your spin in practice here - was that the first time you have spun this year?

JB: Yeah, it was quite fun. I didn't hit anything. It is always fun when you don't hit anything. It doesn't matter so much. If I damage the car and I don't get ready for qualifying - it is not so important! It is nice to be in that position, relax and push the car to the limit. It was just so frustrating in Q3 to have that problem because I am sure it would have been better - and three positions around here might be quite a lot in the race. We will see. Rubens and myself are pretty much on the same fuel, but I think the top five will all be on similar fuel loads.

Q. How do you rate your own performance in the second half of the season?

JB: Good. In the situation that I have been in, when you are leading the championship, and I led it all season, there are certain things that are important to you. And consistency is one of them. In the situation I was in, I am very happy with what I have done this year.

This is a weekend where I want to get a good result. It doesn't matter for the championship, but I am a racing driver and I want to do the best I can. I am very competitive. I am looking forward to the race, and hopefully it will be a good track to race on.

Q. What are your feelings about Giancarlo Fisichella - your former team-mate who could be taking part in his last race?

JB: I don't know what is going to happen with him next year. I saw an article that he wants to drive with Force India again next year, but I don't know what is going to happen with him. He has had a long career in F1. He has been in some quite competitive cars. He was alongside Fernando when he won the championship, and I don't know his situation at the moment. He is a very quick driver, and he has had a lot of race victories in cars that would not normally have got race victories - especially the Jordan. So it is strange to see that he is not getting the performance out of the Ferrari. The performance is in him, for sure, it is just extracting it.