Beaming Button hails outrageous car

Jenson Button's smile was as broad as the Bosphorus for lap after lap of Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

When the runaway Formula One leader stood on the podium, wiping away the sweat and champagne after an astonishing sixth victory in seven races, he had tears in his eyes and a sense of utter exhilaration.

It was a race the Brawn driver said he almost wished would never end.

"I could have carried on driving for another 200 laps because I was enjoying myself so much in that car," he told a news conference.

"Even 10 or 15 laps in, I thought it's probably not a good idea but I really wanted to radio in to the team and say this car is just outrageous.

"But it was tempting fate a little and I left it to the end of the race."

As he crossed the line, Button let it all pour out.

"You have built me a monster of a car, you guys are absolute legends," he yelled over the team radio.

Starting second on the grid, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on pole position, Button took the lead on the opening lap when the German ran wide through turn nine and left the door wide open.

From then on, he was in a league of his own.

"I don't think we were ever going to win today because the guy who won is a different animal," said Australian Mark Webber, runner-up for Red Bull.

RECORD PACE

After starting the season with just one lucky win from 153 starts, the 29-year-old has now reeled off four wins in a row and taken 61 points from a maximum 65.

With a 26-point lead over Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello, he is racing towards his first title at a record pace after being almost on the scrapheap in December when Brawn's predecessors Honda announced they were quitting.

"Every race that I've won this year has been pretty emotional. The old memories obviously come flooding back," said Button, who scored more points on Sunday than he had in the previous two seasons with Honda.

"(Sometimes) you get into a car where every single lap you drive you have a smile on your face because it's working so well. This race was that race.

"Today was a day where we showed that we have made a good step forward," he added, with words that his increasingly-distant rivals would not want to hear.

"This is a day really for the whole team, I really wanted them to be on the podium with me," continued Button, batting away the widely-held belief that the title is a foregone conclusion.

"I'm in a good position," he said. "This race showed that we did have the best car. I think that we have the best package, this car really suits me. So I'm driving at my best.

"The situation at the moment is, you would say, perfect. But it can easily go the wrong way and these guys could suddenly bolt something on that would bring them to our pace or even quicker.

"I've got a 26-point lead which is just out of this world, but I'm still not going to lift off," he said.

"I am still going to make every move that I possibly can to win every race. But I also know that is not going to be easy. I will have a bad race this year and I will get beaten. It's being ready for that situation."