Button sticks to McLaren despite slow start

Briton Jenson Button confirms that his loyalties lie with McLaren.

MELBOURNE:

Briton Jenson Button has confirmed that his loyalties lie with McLaren despite the team’s new car looking off the pace at the start of the season.

After McLaren delayed the launch of the new car until the second pre-season test, pace and reliability has been a problem for the team, with principal Martin Whitmarsh admitting taking some risks with the upgrades it is hoping to bring to the opening race in Melbourne.

Button, however, told The Sun he was comfortable with the team.

“I feel very much at home here but I haven’t thought about that far into the future,” he said. “I’m racing with one of the best teams in the world. This has to be the best place to be to fight for a world championship, and that’s the reason why I chose to move here. I haven’t doubted that.

“We all go through difficult times and this winter hasn’t been perfect for us. But you win and you lose as a team. You fight it out, and when times are tough people always say it makes you stronger.”

Button also issued a word of caution to teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has been the centre of speculation about his own future with McLaren.

“It’s his decision but I think that he feels very much at home within this team. It might be a surprise going somewhere else. It would be a very different environment for him. But I don’t think he’s thinking like that.”

Massa quicker than most: Alonso

Fernando Alonso has said that he does not think there are many drivers quicker than his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa.

Massa endured a difficult last season sitting in Alonso’s shadow, being asked to move over for the Spaniard when leading the German Grand Prix. The new season, however, is seen as a crucial one for Massa, but Alonso said he liked having him as a teammate.

“Massa is a great challenger for me,” Alonso told Welt. “I don’t think there are many drivers who are faster than him. After all, when he crossed the line in Brazil in 2008, he was the world champion for a few seconds, so he has to prove to no one how fast and talented he is.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2011.