Button provides steer for Virgin’s drivers

Jenson Button believes Virgin Racing’s technical partnership with McLaren will boost the Yorkshire team’s chances of closing the gap on the fastest cars next year but he has urged his fellow drivers to ensure they push the team forward.

Button says he would not have won the world championship in 2009 had he not convinced troubled Honda to recruit technical genius Ross Brawn the year before.

And with Dinnington-based Marussia Virgin Racing suffering a second year off the pace, Button believes the onus is on drivers Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio to ensure the link-up with McLaren brings quick results.

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“You have to be pushing as a driver, pushing either for the people in the team to work harder or do a better job or if you think there’s an area that’s weak in the team, really push for the team to hire someone in that area,” said McLaren’s Button, who trails world championship leader Sebastian Vettel by 110 points with seven races to go.

“That’s what we did at Honda with Ross Brawn. We were struggling in 2007, so my manager and myself really pushed for Ross to get involved but initially they weren’t interested.

“In the end they realised he was the top guy and they got him on board. We got a podium, won a race, and within a year and a half we’d won a championship.”

No one expects results as instant or dramatic as that for John Booth’s team, who despite improving reliability in their second season are still lapping four to five seconds slower than Button’s McLaren, the Red Bulls and the Ferraris.

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Next year, however, Virgin will arrive on the grid emboldened by the technical arrangement they have signed with Formula 1 superpower McLaren, which allows them access to facilities such as test rigs, driver simulator and wind tunnel.

“Hopefully the technical partnership will help them understand a little bit more of what’s needed to fight for a championship,” continued Button, who heads to Monza for the weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

“Hopefully they’ll learn a few things that will help them in seasons to come.

“Formula 1 is very competitive, but we’d like to not see such a wide gap, not four or five seconds between the quick teams and the slow teams. We want it that bit closer because it makes the racing better, and it makes it easier for us when we’re lapping them.

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“It’s tricky for any team coming into the sport and racing against the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, because it is such a competitive sport.

“They haven’t got the resources of the big teams, and while we at McLaren may be limited in certain ways we still have more resources, funds and expertise than them, so it’s tricky. But hopefully they’ll gain ground next year and be competitive because I’m sure it’s tough for the drivers and everyone involved with the team, knowing they are never going to score a point.

“Everyone at a team like Virgin needs to show patience, but also you’ve got to remember you are part of that team; you’re not an outsider, you’re not someone that can stand there and point the finger at the team because you’re a part of it. If you succeed you enjoy it together and if you don’t perform you’re all part of that.”

At the front of the grid, Button has reignited his season with memorable victories in Canada and Hungary, and a podium finish at Spa nine days ago.

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But Vettel’s win in Belgium was the German’s seventh of the season, leaving the 31-year-old and the rest playing catch up.

Asked if he had any chance of winning the title this year, Button said: “I’ll say no because then if we do it’s an amazing achievement.

“It’s going to be very tricky for anyone to beat Sebastian this year. I said last year that I think he made too many mistakes but this year he hasn’t. He’s driven superbly, and also his team has done a great job. They’ve been relaible, quick and not made any mistakes with strategy, so they’re tough to beat.”

Red Bull are also financially sound, a luxury Button did not have at Brawn when he was closing in on the title two years ago.

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“It’s a tricky position for Seb to be in. How hard do you push?” asked Button at the opening of his new restaurant, Victus, in Harrogate.

“Two years ago I was on the other side because people were able to take risks and I wasn’t, and it’s an uncomfortable position to be in. I got into a defensive mindset because we didn’t have the pace or the resources that Red Bull have. We did for the first part of the season but then we didn’t develop the car because we didn’t have the money to do it.

“It became tough, we didn’t know where the next upgrade was going to come from, so mentally it was very difficult. But we came away with the title so we must have done something right.”

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