Red Bull mechanic scolds ’cheat’ Button

At least one Red Bull team member did not see the funny side after Jenson Button drove into the wrong area for a pitstop in China.

"He is obviously so eager to drive for Red Bull that he wanted to stop there," joked team boss Christian Horner, after McLaren’s Button stopped for service on Sunday surrounded by the gesticulating blue-clad Red Bull pit crew.

Button realised his error quickly and did not hold up the chasing Sebastian Vettel, who in fact took race position from the Briton.

"I was like ’Oh my god, I can’t believe I just did that’," the red-faced 2009 world champion said afterwards.

Button’s own boss Martin Whitmarsh was not overly impressed but he saw the funny side, describing the faux pas as "comical" and joking that his driver "must have liked the look of Red Bull’s tyres".

British comedy lover Vettel smiled when asked about Button’s mistake but also furrowed his brow to point out the more serious side.

"I lost a little bit of time because I waited, I didn’t want to stop and then go again. It’s also not easy for the (pit) guys, it’s very easy to lose the rhythm," said the reigning champion.

Even more irritated was Red Bull’s left-rear wheel-gun operator Mark Lenton, otherwise known as Mark Webber’s number one mechanic ’Crunch’.

"I realised they were cheating from the beginning," he said when asked about the incident by the BBC’s David Coulthard after the race.

"I was pretty disappointed when he wanted to stop, to slow us down," added Lenton.

Asked by Coulthard if he was joking, ’Crunch’ - clarifying that his view was a personal opinion rather than a team one - continued: "I honestly think they were trying to cheat. I thought it was a very cheeky move to try to slow us down."