Button takes 10th Grand Prix title
- Source: Global Times
- [16:54 April 19 2010]
- Comments
Briton Jeson Button of the McLaren team take his 10th Grand Prix title at the 2010 Formula One in Shanghai Sunday. Photos: AFP
By Shen Weihuang
Even the downpour of rain that turned the tracks into a muddy slick could not stop World No 1 Jeson Button from outshining his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton in a drama-filled showdown at the Shanghai International Circuit Sunday, earning the Briton his first Chinese Grand Prix title.
"For me, it's my best victory," said Button, during a press conference just moments after his 10th Grand Prix victory. "This one was pretty special because the conditions were tough.
"Every bit of water I touched aquaplaned, and it was a tricky race out there. ... It's not just about being quick, it's about reading the conditions."
Behind Hamilton, who took the Chinese trophy home in 2008, German Nico Rosberg of Mercedes finished third on the podium ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso of Spain.
But for all the glory, the event was overshadowed by fans in Shanghai who could not help but wonder if the 7th annual Shanghai stop was the last to hit the $450 million-track (3 billion yuan) designed by German architectural wonder Hermann Tilke.
Running a deficit of some 200 million yuan ($29.3 million) annually since the event launched in the metropolis in 2004, Yang Yibing, director of the Shanghai Jiushi Corporation, responsible for the management of the Chinese Grand Prix, told the Tianfu Morning Post Sunday that the city has swept the losses under the rug year after year because the event puts Shanghai on the world map and bolsters its international image among tourists.
