Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Jenson Button says team-mate Sergio Perez was too aggressive during their battle in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Button and Perez swapped positions several times during the race, but their closest encounter came at Turn 4, where Perez nudged Button.
“I was very vocal on the radio, emotions were running high, but I would say exactly the same again.”
After the contact, Button urged McLaren to ‘calm him down’.
“The racing was great out there. The only person that wasn’t was Checo [Sergio Perez]. He was too aggressive, I would say. At 300 km/h, you don’t expect your team-mate to come alongside you and bang wheels with you. It was a bit of a surprise, and I’m probably not the only one that feels like that.”
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were critical of Perez following the Chinese Grand Prix, but team principal Martin Whitmarsh had urged the Mexican to be more robust out on track.
But Perez feels he just reacted to Button’s level of aggression.
“I think I was as aggressive as he was with me,” he said.
Perez finished in sixth place, while Button stopped four times on his way to tenth.
