Button refuses to give up on title race

Red Bull’s Mark Webber is optimistic about his chances of winning this year while Alonso downplays his win.

YEONGAM, SOUTH KOREA: McLaren driver Jenson Button is not ready to abandon the title race despite having a minute chance with his 42-point lag from championship leader Fernando Alonso.

But team boss Martin Whitmarsh is expecting Button to boost his teammate Lewis Hamilton voluntarily after last year’s champion had earlier conceded the defence of his title was all but over immediately as he finished 12th in South Korea.

“You don’t win world championships by conceding defeat before it’s all over,” Button told BBC. “You’ve seen how things change. If I couldn’t win the championship then, yes, I would help Hamilton.”

Meanwhile, Whitmarsh claims that although he will not issue any team orders, he expects Button to help teammate Hamilton, who is 21 points adrift of Alonso.

“Button will offer his help to Hamilton voluntarily, because he knows that we have treated him fairly. And because he knows him winning the title will only be possible with a miracle.”

Webber stays bullish

Red Bull’s Mark Webber is optimistic about his chances of winning this year despite losing his leadership after crashing out on Sunday’s Grand Prix.

“It’s not easy, but I can still do it. Positions are not really important at the moment, the points are the important thing. They can change very quickly.”

Meanwhile, Alonso remains downbeat after his third win in the past four races. “There are four or five contenders still so, as we repeat many times, the key is consistency,” said Alonso.

But he said his fifth win this season had been one of his most satisfying.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2010.