McLaren-Mercedes
Jenson Button says he has no regrets over his tyre choice for the final segment of qualifying at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Button opted to complete Q3 on Intermediate tyres, while his rivals posted faster lap times on the full wet tyres.
Button ended the session slowest of the runners and will start from 10th on the grid.
"The decision to run on Intermediates in Q3 was my choice," he said. "I usually make those kinds of calls – and tend to get them right – but I got it wrong today.
"When you’re quick enough to be fastest on Full Wets, then choosing to run on Intermediates isn’t worth the gamble; but, when you’re fighting at the back of the top 10, it’s worth giving it a go to see what happens. And into that final qualifying session, just as it looked as though the conditions were heading back towards favouring the Intermediate, it went and rained again.
"Funnily enough, though, I’m not too disappointed that I made the wrong call. We might have qualified only a couple of places higher if we’d called it differently, and that’s not what we’re aiming for – so it was worth a gamble.
"Besides, if it’s wet tomorrow, it’ll be tough for everyone – the tyres give us no grip in these conditions, since all the cars are obviously running lower downforce than last year.
"No-one knows what’ll happen tomorrow – but one thing everyone knows is that, if it rains, it’ll be tricky."
