Sunday: Button and Magnussen place their McLarens in the points
The two McLaren drivers managed to finish in the top 10 at the Canadian Grand Prix. Button perfectly handled the twists and turns of the race to finish 4th. Magnussen, who started further back, managed to climb up to 9th position.
Jenson Button (No. 22) – 4th
The Briton wanted to congratulate the winner of the day, Daniel Ricciardo: « What a fantastic race! Congratulations to Daniel – I’m one of his big fans, he’s a good guy, and he is also incredibly talented. Your first Grand Prix victory is always very special, so well done to him. »
Button’s race wasn’t easy, but he managed to come out on top at the end to finish well: « The first stint on super-softs was complicated for me, so I decided to pit quite early and switch to softs. But then, I got back into traffic – there were cars everywhere: if you’re fighting against a single car, it’s easier to pass, but if you’re in a group, it’s complicated because many drivers can use the DRS. But I managed to pass in the end. I rolled the dice with Fernando and Nico [Hülkenberg] – Fernando nearly touched Nico at the hairpin, and I dived inside. They both went wide, and I managed to pass them inside. »
The McLaren driver hopes to continue this positive momentum at the next race in Austria: « We leave this weekend knowing that we have a better feel for our car – it is encouraging to have made progress. In a race without pitfalls, I wouldn’t have finished 4th, but we did a good job today and we should be happy. These points are useful, they will encourage us to keep working well in Austria. »
Kevin Magnussen (No. 20) – 9th
The Dane is delighted to have finished in the points as it was somewhat unexpected: Before the race, I told myself I would be happy if I could score some points this afternoon. Getting both cars in the top 10 is nice for the team, but we know there is still work to be done to catch up with the teams ahead of us in the championship.
Even though the McLaren isn’t yet on the level of its rivals, Magnussen is happy with the work done by the entire McLaren team to move forward: « Everyone is pushing hard right now, we just need to try to push a little more. For now, I think we are heading in the right direction – there are a lot of good things happening at the factory – and the whole team is working tirelessly and doing a great job. »
