Button pressing to compete with Ferrari

Jenson Button heads to Indianapolis searching for answers as to why his BAR is unable to find the race pace to stay with Ferrari.

As for team-mate Takuma Sato, the Japanese star goes into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix with question marks hanging over him after yet another blown-engine in Canada.

Button claimed another podium finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, his sixth this season, albeit courtesy of Ralf Schumacher’s disqualification from second after his BMW Williams was adjudged to have illegal air ducts.

But the 24-year-old was expecting so much more, particularly after qualifying on the front row of the grid alongside the younger Schumacher, only to find himself trailing in the wake of six-times world champion Michael and Rubens Barrichello.

Even taking into account the fact that Button and BAR adopted a three-stop strategy compared to the two for Ferrari, he would still have been adrift come the chequered flag.

It is a taxing problem for Button, who had hoped the Honda engine would at least bring him closer to the Ferraris, and with little time to address the matter before Sunday’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Our pace was disappointing compared to the Ferraris so I guess we just have to look at what went wrong and fix it for Indianapolis,” commented Button, who remains third in the drivers’ championship, 26 points adrift of Michael and 10 behind Barrichello.

BAR boss Dave Richards also appreciates his team “still have a lot of work to do” if they are to keep pace with Ferrari.

He added: “The realistic situation for this year is that nobody is going to close the performance gap, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities to beat Ferrari.

“They lost Monaco under very strange circumstances, so you have to consider that was not a normal situation and there will be other situations that are not normal during the course of the year. I’m sure of that.

“We just have to wait and make sure that when it happens, we are in a position to take advantage of it. That’s the key.

“The reality is we just didn’t have the pace on the day [in Canada]. Lessons learned will hopefully stand us in good stead for Indianapolis.”

Richards is hoping a quiet word in the ear of Sato will alleviate some of the problems the 27-year-old is encountering, notably his exuberance.

Sato was expected to shine in Canada, but pushed too hard in qualifying as a spin led to 17th on the grid, although he ultimately started from the pit lane.

Then, when on course for a potential points finish, the engine blew on his car, the fourth time in five races the Honda-powered V10 has failed him.

There are suggestions Sato is trying too hard, a point Richards agrees with as he said: “We’ve had a little talk with him to try to temper his enthusiasm, quietly cajole him and to lower the expectations as well.

“You always see aggressive performances from people who are uncertain of their position, or just their performance overall. He has to be a little more comfortable setting goals for himself.

“I think we all make our own pressure and we can manage that very carefully if we think about it. There are ways in which we can control that for him and help him out of the problem.

“But quite frankly, the pressure is on me because he drives for me, so I have to find ways of getting the best out of him.”