Button: I'll get my buzz from beating Lewis

Saturday 21st November 2009

Formula One World Champion Jenson Button said he is ready for "a good fight" with new team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Button signed for the McLaren team earlier this week, ending a long relationship with Brawn GP, with whom he won his first driver's title this year.

He said: "Moving to McLaren is the buzz I need, fighting against Lewis.

"Winning the World Championship was my aim and I've achieved that, I want to go out there and have fun and fight against Lewis.

"I hope that when we go out head to head I come out on top but I don't know that, nobody knows that, that's why it's a proper challenge."

He said 2008 Champion Hamilton would have an advantage because of his long-term involvement with the team but added: "I'm going to work very hard over this winter so I feel comfortable when we come to the first race."

On Friday, Button, 29, met fans and signed copies of his new book, race diary My Championship Year, at Waterstone's in Bristol.

He said it was fitting the foreword to the book was written by Brawn team boss Ross Brawn, despite the recent announcement, adding: "We've been through a lot together, you can't forget what we've achieved.

"We spent a lot of time together, I've been with them for seven years.

"I respect Ross a lot and I think he understands my decision. For me, 2010 is all about challenges, I came into Forumla one to win the World Championship and that's what I did in my 10th season.

"After I did achieve that I thought 'so now I've achieved this what's in store for me? What's the best option?'

"I personally think fighting with Lewis at McLaren is a challenge and a half but I'm willing to take it."

He added: "The Brawn GP team have given me something I always wanted in this sport and I've given them something in return - the World Championship.

"We've worked together for so many years and been such good friends and working buddies."

Button, who will not be released from Brawn until the end of his contract in January, added: "Moving teams is never the easiest thing in Formula One but sometimes these are the decisions you take and you need some new challenges.

"It's going to be tough and I'm going to go onto the grid in 2010 a better driver, a stronger driver but with new challenges in front of me, I know it's not going to be a walk in the park."

Speaking about his ambitions for 2010, Button added: "I hope next year will be my best yet.

"I want to win the World Championship again, that always has to be your aim when going up against one of the best drivers in the world.

"We always want to beat each other because we're very competitive people so my aim is to work with Lewis very closely to make sure the car is in a good place so we can fight for victories.

"Then the rivalry will come and we'll try to beat each other. That's a buzz for me - and I hope it is for Lewis.

"I go into the team positive we can have a good fight, that's all I know at the moment."

Your Comments

fairplay

"Whatever the outcome,it really gives us all something to look fwd to in 2010.Good thing too as it was lining up to be a tad monotonous,again.Here's hoping the bunglers at FIA HQ can avoid another rule induced,fan base killing one horse race. "

whitew

"Button will be lucky to fit in the McLaren next year, with an ego the size of his.

He got lucky, well done to him for taking his opportunity, but he will never be a Legend oonly a 1 time champ.

LH will destroy him next year."

Chylout

"raouldrake I think you're both right and wrong. Too much was made of the DD diffuser - the reality is the Brawn diffuser generated at most a 20kg downforce advantage - about 2 tenths worth maximum. Look at Red Bull. Supposedly they came to Silverstone with a new diffuser and trounced everyone. Reality was they had 70-odd new parts on the car at Silverstone - the diffuser was just one of those. I think that's the point. Brawn didn't develop their car more widely as quickly through the season as the other teams - whether this was a resource issue or just that they were starting on their 2010 car I don't know - maybe both. The point is that Jenson had the best car early on not simply because of the diffuser, but because of a package of things - they knew the car was great long before the finalised their diffuser. However the other teams improved their package faster, so in the end Jenson stopped winning because the car was no longer comparable with the Red Bull and others (except for maybe at Monza). The diffuser was a tiny part of that."

raouldrake

"I find all this "new challenge" talk coming from Button a bit strange, it's not like he's a 7 time world champion that's struggling to find reasons to race because he's achieved so much in the sport!

I would have thought the his main challenge would have been proving that his(and Brawn GP for that matter) winning ways in the first half of 09' were not just the result of a technical advantage that the rest of the field didn't have yet. The FACT is that as soon as the rest of the pack cottoned onto the whole "double decker diffuser" he didn't win a race...."

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