Button joy at greatest career win
● McLaren driver snatches victory on last lap
● Button wins despite clash with Hamilton
● Hamilton labelled ‘completely mad’ by Lauda
BRITAIN’S Jenson Button toasted his finest ever win after putting a clash with team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind him to snatch a dramatic victory in a chaotic Canadian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver capitalised on a rare mistake by world champion Sebastian Vettel on the final lap of a rain-interrupted race to take the lead and claim his first win of the season.
Button’s triumph was all the more remarkable given he hauled his way back from 21st place and earlier collided with Hamilton on lap eight, in an incident that ended his fellow Englishman’s participation.
Hamilton, sensing an opening, darted up the inside only for Button to close the gap and sandwich him against the wall as he took the racing line, and was ordered to retire by team chiefs.
“I really don’t know what to say, it’s been a very emotional three hours or whatever it’s been since the start,” Button said.
“The incident with Lewis – I couldn’t see anything and I’ve apologised to him. It was really a fight from then on, but I kept on pushing and I managed to get past Seb at the end. Another great win for me and possibly my best.”
A frustrated Hamilton defended his attempted overtaking manoeuvre and insisted Button had left it late to shut the door, saying: “I felt like I was halfway up the outside of him and he just kept moving across and I was in the wall.”
But former world champion Niki Lauda attacked Hamilton, who had earlier nudged Red Bull’s Mark Webber, calling him “completely mad”. He added: “If [governing body] the FIA does not punish him, I do not understand the world any more. You cannot drive like this as it will result in someone getting killed.”
Button’s win in a race that featured a two-hour stoppage and five safety car periods owing to torrential rain in Montreal lifted him to second in the drivers’ championship, but he still trails Vettel by 60 points.
McLaren boss Whitmarsh hailed Button’s stellar performance, adding: “Coming through six times from 21st is incredible. He is driving fantastically and we know he deserves it. He just attacked and attacked and delivered a fantastic race.”
Vettel was second with team-mate Webber third, having denied veteran Michael Schumacher a first podium finish since 2006.