Jenson Button Claims Victory For McLaren In Australian Grand Prix

Jenson Button has claimed the first victory for himself and McLaren in Melbourne, in a thrilling Australian Grand Prix that put worries of F1 becoming boring to rest. Having gambled on switching to dry tyres early, Button took the lead from Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), who started the race in pole position, when he skidded into the gravel due to a brake failure, forcing him out of the race.

“For this moment in my career, it is very special and hopefully this is something we can build on for this year. This has given us a bit of direction. We are very hungry for victory and this one is just a taster”, Button said. “Hopefully with a few improvements, this is going to continue”.

“The team has done a great job this weekend, we have made some good steps forward, but we are still not quick enough”, Button added, cautioning that McLaren cars still lack the pace shown by Red Bull rivals. “We still want to be quicker than we are, but this is a great result and to win here with what we have is spectacular, and we have to keep building on this”.

Robert Kubica (Renault) finished second, ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso (both Ferrari). Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) took fifth and Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) finished sixth. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) ended the race in a distant tenth.