Button: Hamilton did a better job

Jenson Button may have lost out to his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in McLaren's battle of the Brits in Bahrain but the reigning World Champ isn't at all fazed about it.

Heading to Bahrain for the season-opening race, Button insisted that he would not hang his head if he lost out to his team-mate as it's just one race in a 19-race season.

And that's exactly what happened.

Qualifying eighth to Hamilton's fourth, Button was on the back foot in a race that was largely processional, offering almost no overtaking opportunities as tyre preservation won out over all-out-pace.

49 laps later, Hamilton claimed third place and 15 points while Button was P7, and twenty seconds down the road, with just six points to his tally.

Asked if round one belonged to Hamilton, the Brit told the Daily Mail: "If you want to write that you can write that.

"It's a fact that Lewis finished in front of me. He did a better job. I couldn't have done any more in the race. Qualifying wasn't good but in the race I couldn't have done anything else. I was stuck in traffic.

"My pace was very good. But Lewis is an exceptional driver. It would be difficult for any driver to come in and be quicker than someone like Lewis but I am working hard to improve myself in qualifying, to find a car that suits in qualifying, and I am happy with the progress I am making and the team is making.

"They are open, listening to everything I say. I am disappointed to finish seventh but I was reasonably happy with the actual pace, so I go to Melbourne positive that I can improve myself and take steps forward."

Button, though, hit out at Formula One's new regulations, which include a ban on refuelling, insisting that they are not helping to improve the spectacle.

"I tell you what, I don't know what's going to happen in the next few races but that was pretty much what we expected. All the cars stop at the same time and don't overtake each other," he said.

"It's not like the old days when they had more fuel. We have so much more downforce. You could follow cars then. You could slide up the inside. You could race. It's very different now.

"You don't have traction. You can't exit a corner quickly. Michael (Schumacher) was weak on braking. I'd be eight car lengths behind, catch up on him but there was no way I could go past. So I don't think anyone really overtook.

"We might get more tyre degradation in Melbourne. We need to look at different ideas of running one tyre first, one second, mix it up."

One of the aspects Button admits he needs to focus on at the next race is qualifying, which, if F1 doesn't change the regulations allowing for overtaking, could be the deciding factor in Sunday's grands prix.

"Qualifying wasn't good," he told The Times. "I made it difficult for myself - or we made it difficult for ourselves. We tried something and it wasn't the right direction. I wasn't entirely happy with the car, and we carried it over.

"But Melbourne might be different. Chatting with the engineers, now there's lots of ideas to help over one lap. And looking at the race pace in clear air, it was almost as quick as the Ferraris. I couldn't have done any more in the race."

Button: Hamilton did a better job | Planet F1 | Formula One News