JENSON Button secured the greatest win of his Formula One career at the end of an epic Canadian Grand Prix.
It was a rain-hit race that had everything, but it boiled down to the last lap just as the clock had also hit the twohour limit.
Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was hounded into making an error by Button, sliding wide at one stage to open the door, with the 31- year-old needing no second invitation.
Button then made it to the line for a sensational victory, the tenth of his career, and first since last year’s Chinese Grand Prix now 14 months ago.
There could yet be a sting in the tail, however, as Button is under investigation by the stewards for a collision with Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari that resulted in the double world champion retiring.
How Button managed such a win is a remarkable story as he pitted six times in total, five occasions for tyres and once for a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car.
In particular, though, he was also involved in an accident with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, resulting in the latter’s retirement.
Button was naturally emotional given what had transpired over the preceding few hours as the race also involved a two-hour delay for torrential rain.
‘‘I really don’t know what to say, it’s been an emotional three hours,’’ said Button.
‘‘Regarding the incident with Lewis I didn’t see him and I’ve apologised to him. We both agree it was one of those things.
‘‘For me it was a fantastic race.
“Even if I hadn’t won I would have enjoyed this race immensely, but it’s a win, definitely my best.
‘‘I’m definitely going to be celebrating. I’ll have a good night and enjoy what I achieved. A big thank you to the team for what they’ve done.’’ Vettel, who led for the majority of the race through all the chaos, said: ‘‘Of course I’m disappointed.
‘‘I was probably too conservative at the last safety car and I did not open up enough of a gap.
‘‘Then when it came down to the fight at the end the mistake was down to me, I locked up the rear. When there is only one line I ended up in the wet ‘‘It is still a good day as many mistakes were made and cars did not finish, yet we’ve picked up good points.’’ Button’s race was in stark contrast to that of Hamilton who came to grief on lap eight.
After being given two drivethrough penalties in Monaco for causing collisions, you would have thought Hamilton might have learned his lesson.
But not a bit of it as he went gung-ho at the start after the safety car had pulled in following the opening four laps due to a wet track, and paid the highest of penalties.
Through the opening corners on lap five Hamilton first dived up the inside of Mark Webber, resulting in contact, sending the Australian into a spin.
Hamilton lost two places, from fifth to seventh, however Webber plunged towards the rear, and it came as no surprise when the stewards announced an investigation .
Within minutes, though, it was cancelled as Hamilton had crashed out, committing the cardinal sin of colliding with his team-mate.
Having passed Button once, he was forced to try and do it all over again after running wide at the hairpin in attempting to take Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes.
Lining up Button down the start/finish straight, Hamilton pulled out to pass, at which point the former had started to drift across onto the racing line.
It resulted in Button squeezing his team-mate against the pitwall, the leftrear wheel of Hamilton’s McLaren hitting the concrete and sustaining a puncture.
Although Hamilton tried to continue, it was apparent the damage was too severe, forcing him to pull over soon after, resulting in the deployment of the safety car.
It resulted in Button screaming over the radio: ‘‘What was he doing?’’, with the incident forcing him into the pits for a tyre change.
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