Button hopes sixth-place finish at British GP was a rare off day as winner Sebastian cuts seven points off the Briton's lead

Jenson Button is optimistic his disappointing sixth place at yesterday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be remembered as the only blot on the landscape in what has been an otherwise faultless 2009 campaign. Button came to his home race eyeing a seventh win and fifth in succession this season, but saw his hopes dashed from the outset as his Brawn GP car struggled to get grip into his tyres in the low temperatures at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Button's woes were reflected in a below-par sixth place on the starting grid, from where the 29-year-old never looked likely to be a factor in the race, won by rising star Sebastian Vettel, who led home a Red Bull Racing one-two from Mark Webber.

Dropping margin
Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello was third at the chequered flag as the veteran Brazilian reduced Button's lead in the drivers' championship to 23 points. More ominously, Vettel's win saw him take seven points out of the Briton's lead as the season moves towards its halfway mark. He now trails Button by 25 points, but critically his car appears to have the edge on the Brawn after the Milton Keynes-based team rolled out a raft of revisions to the RB5 for this weekend's race.

With just one point settling the drivers' title in each of the last two seasons, Button is aware he must collect points even on the bad days, and he was relieved to limit the damage done to his title chances yesterday.

"The opening pit stop went well for him and he was able to stay in front of (Ferrari's Felipe) Massa and (Williams' Nico) Rosberg, but the pace wasn't there, and that's just the way our car is with the low temperatures.

"But there you go. Hopefully, this will be the worst race of the year. And after struggling so hard to get three points, in a way this might be an important three points."