2009 F1 champion Jenson Button scores top 10 at Le Mans with Cadillac

Former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button bagged a top 10 finish with Cadillac in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Button, Sebastien Bourdais and Earl Bamber clinched eight place in the No. 38 Cadillac V-Series.R, three positions behind the other Jota-run factory car of Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato.

Cadillac had shown strong one-lap pace in qualifying, with Lynn and Bamber locking out the front row on Thursday. However, it soon became clear that the GM brand lacked the long-run performance to challenge for the win once the race got underway on Saturday afternoon.

Both of the additional Cadillacs entered by Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing were forced to retire on Sunday due to mechanical problems, leaving the two Jota-run cars to carry the flag for the American marque.

Bamber picked up a five-second time penalty for cutting the track and Bourdais was penalised with a drive-through penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry, but the race otherwise went smoothly for the No. 38 crew.

Button admitted that the race was “incredibly tough” for him and his teammates as they lacked the pace to take the fight to the frontrunners, but he was nevertheless proud of what Jota and Cadillac achieved in their first year together at Le Mans.

He cited tyre degradation as the chief reason behind Cadillac’s contrasting fortunes between qualifying and the race.

“Thursday was understandably a massive highlight for the entire team,” said Button, who was racing in Le Mans for the fourth time.

“Unsurprisingly, this race has been incredibly tough. There’s a reason why it has the reputation it does. No one gets out of the car feeling like they haven’t given it their all. 

“We definitely had some serious speed in the high-speed corners. This got us our qualifying positions, but pushing this during the race compromised the tyres. In the race we weren’t able to capitalise on our high speed. 

“We’ve definitely learned a lot this week. We have some work to do for the races to come but I’ll be leaving Le Mans very proud of the entire team.”

Bourdais, who won the 2014 Daytona 24 Hours and has multiple Le Mans podiums to his name, echoed Button’s sentiments and highlighted the need for Cadillac and Jota to continue improving in their pursuit of a World Endurance Championship race victory.

“The team can be proud – front row and then fifth and eighth,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do; we made some mistakes. We got a bit unlucky at times. But, overall, we need to be stronger to win a WEC race right now. We are showing some good things and just need to build on the strengths and fill the gap for the weaknesses.”