McLaren driver Jenson Button has admitted that there was nothing he could have done about Sebastian Vettel's pace in the Indian Grand Prix, saying the team had nevertheless done a "perfect job" despite finishing second.
Button moved up quickly from fourth on the grid to second by the end of the opening lap, but he was unable to challenge Vettel's lead throughout the rest of the race.Although he managed to close up slightly during both pit stop windows, he quickly dropped off again, and ended up 8.4 seconds down at the chequered flag.
And in the post-race press conference, Button admitted that second place had been as good as he could have hoped for at the Buddh circuit.
"The last race I really struggled on the first lap and lost a lot of places, so I wanted to redeem myself here, and then I was just trying to hang on to Seb," he rambled.
"His pace was good, he didn't make many mistakes. The tyres when I came out of the box felt good and felt competitive, but as soon as Seb got into a rhythm I could not do anything about it."
He added: "For the team we have done a perfect job today and could not have done anything else."
He said that his opening lap exploits had been fun, but admitted that it was "frustrating" to have failed to challenge the race-winning German.
"The start off the line didn't feel that good but it's such low grip, then I was able to get Fernando [Alonso] in Turn 1 when he went a bit deep," he explained.
"I knew I had to get a good exit out of Turn 3, got a good exit and was in Mark [Webber]'s tow - he covered the inside but I had enough speed around the outside."
He added: "It was an exciting part of the race, then I had Mark behind me for eight laps pushing me really, really hard. We both braked very, very late, I kept position and then was able to pull away.
"It was a fun race, bit frustrating that I couldn't catch up with Seb. The pace isn't quite there but hopefully in the next two races we can make that step."
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh added that Button's race performance had been "excellent", and admitted that the team had not been able to run with Vettel and Red Bull.
"Jenson made a great start and then drove a brilliant first few corners, working his way from fourth on the grid to second by the end of the first lap," Whitmarsh grinned.
"He followed that with a truly excellent race-long performance, managing tyre wear where necessary yet still managing to keep up impressive race pace throughout.
"He didn't ever have quite enough race pace to mount a concerted attack on Seb, but he got the maximum out of his car and beat everyone else fair and square."
The result sees Button extend his advantage in the fight for second place in the championship, with the British driver now leading Fernando Alonso by 13 points with two races to go in 2011.
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