Button bemoans blunder
Jenson Button was left cursing the challenging new Istanbul Otodrom after his Turkish Grand Prix pole position bid was ruined by an uncharacteristic error.
Button was on course to leap to the top of the timing sheets after a blistering first sector but he was caught out by the difficult turn eight, a long left-hander which saw several drivers make mistakes.
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has hailed the track as one which “sorts the men from the boys” and Button had no excuses after his error left the BAR-Honda driver down in 13th.
He said: “I hit a bump at the second apex of the corner and looking at the data and the video I think it was on the kerbs at the last apex and I got a big snap of oversteer and that was it. Trying to hold it was impossible.
“I was very surprised, I was going quite a bit slower than in practice through there because I’d seen already what had happened. But I can’t blame anyone, it’s my fault, my mistake. I don’t think there’s any excuse.”
The 25-year-old insisted it was “impossible to say” whether he was destined for pole position but admitted today’s disappointment has all but shattered his dreams of a return to the podium.
Button has only finished in the top three once this season – in Germany, although he was disqualified from this at Imola – but felt he was certain to be back fighting at the front in Turkey.
He believes the Renault duo of world championship leader Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella were in his sights, but has been forced to concede defeat before the lights have even gone out.
“A podium is going to be difficult because Renault and McLaren are going to be fast,” he added after seeing McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen take pole ahead of Fisichella and Alonso.
“I think if we had started at the front we would have had a good chance of challenging Renault for a podium, but not McLaren.
“I think we can still score some good points but I don’t think Renault or McLaren need to worry about us. Apart from them we can really challenge anyone.”
Button was far from the only driver to make a costly mistake in qualifying - team-mate Takuma Sato and Jacques Villeneuve also went off at turn eight while Michael and Ralf Schumacher suffered two corners later.
Button is worried that the new surface on the Istanbul Otodrom could cause problems in the race.
The tarmac on turn eight, which puts drivers through 4G for around eight seconds, has become bumpy after practice and Button fears the intense pounding it will take under race conditions could cause trouble.
“It is getting bumpier definitely,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not going to get worse throughout the race.
“When there’s 58 laps with 20 cars going round it’s going to be pretty tough for the circuit but hopefully it’s going to be fine.”
