Button denied podium finish in final stages of British GP

As Silverstone turned Pink for Papa in memory of his father, Jenson Button came within a second of securing his first ever British GP podium finish today.

The Briton started the race in third place, and although the McLaren car did not have the pace to keep up with the all-dominant Mercedes cars at the front, he did stay in contention for a podium finish throughout the race.

On fresher and more durable tires, Button was hounding Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo for third place in the final few laps of the race. Despite carving into the Australian’s advantage at a rate of 1.5 seconds per lap late on, he simply ran out of time and was forced to settle for fourth come the checkered flag. The gap at the line was just 0.895 seconds in Ricciardo’s favor.

However, this does still see Button equal his best result at the British Grand Prix, a race he has traditionally struggled at. He also came fourth at the 2010 race for McLaren, having finished down in sixth during his championship winning season the year before with Brawn GP.

The Pink for Papa campaign in memory of John Button was a total success at Silverstone, with the grandstands and paddock being filled with pink shirts. Although a podium finish would have been the perfect way for Button to celebrate the day, P4 is still a result he will be very proud of.

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