A brush with the wall at Singapore's unforgiving Turn 14 in Q2 deprived Jenson Button with a shot of accessing the top 10 final segment.
The McLaren-Honda's 's damaged steering left the Brit with a 13th place on tomorrow's grid and a car which felt much improved however since the team's earlier practice sessions.
"All weekend I've not been very quick, I couldn't find grip," lamented Button.
"In qualifying, I could. we made some changes to the car, and it felt really good this evening. It took a few set-up tweaks and I found my confidence, so I was able to get the best out of the car in quali."
"Then, on my final run in Q2, I went a touch wide at the exit of Turn 14 and just tapped the wall on the exit. The impact broke the left-rear wheel and gave me a puncture – it was my fault."
Button considered his lap, up until the mishap, was definitely good for a spot in Q3. But the McLaren's weaker race pace relative to its closest rivals makes points a difficult prospect.
"It was definitely possible to get into Q3 today: my final lap in Q2 was looking very similar to Fernando’s before the puncture.
"Our long-run pace means the race could be difficult for us, but there’ll probably be some Safety Car periods and a bit of action, so anything could happen."
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