- 22 Nov 12, 21:01#335809McLaren's Jenson Button said he would rather Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the title this year than his rival Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.
Vettel goes into the final race of the season in Brazil this weekend as favourite, 13 points clear of Alonso.
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I said after the first race I don't think [Alonso]'s got a chance, but he's done a great job
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Jenson Button
Asked if he was bothered who won, Button said: "Fernando has been the most consistent this year.
"We all know how important that is, so probably Fernando. Just because he hasn't really made any mistakes."
Alonso's Ferrari started the season 1.5 seconds off the pace. It has improved since then but has never been the quickest car in the dry, yet the Spaniard, a two-time champion, has produced what he himself says is his best season to stay in contention throughout the year.
Button said: "I said after the first race I don't think he's got a chance, and I didn't think he did. He was a second off in qualifying, or even more. [Ferrari] have done a good job and he's obviously done a great job as well.
Jenson Button says he is looking forward to the new season as he takes a leading role with McLaren.
"He's been consistently quick and done a very good job in the car he has.
"Seb has been more inconsistent. The last few races he has been fantastic, with a great car.
"If you look at the season as a whole, consistency really does mean a lot and it's good to see that Fernando has been that good at every race.
"Very impressive, actually, to see that performance at every race."
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso says he expects Lewis Hamilton to be competitive with Mercedes next season.
Hamilton ends 14-year relationship with McLaren this weekend after deciding to join Mercedes alongside Nico Rosberg.
"They will be very strong, Nico and Lewis, together with the Mercedes," Alonso said.
"They can be serious contenders for next year. I have a lot of respect for Lewis. I always said he is probably the best or one of the best."
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I was just saying to them that even though I'll be with Mercedes I'll probably go back to have lunch because the food is great there [at McLaren]
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Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton has won four races this year with McLaren and would have been in title contention with Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in Brazil this weekend had the team not had a series of technical and operational failures.
The Englishman joined McLaren as a 13-year-old karter and they have supported his career ever since.
But in September he decided, after three years of cars not competitive enough to compete for the title followed by the problems of this season, that he wanted to try his luck elsewhere.
Mercedes will pay him a salary of $31m (£19.4), far more than any other driver. The next biggest earner next year will be Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who is believed to earn 13m Euros (£10.5m).
Hamilton admits this weekend will be "tough" as he races for McLaren for the last time.
"It's quite a unique situation for me," he said. "I've obviously never been in a situation like this before where it's my last race for the team which I grew up with. It's going to be tough.
"We're going to push as hard as we can and try to win. I've never won here before, and we'll have such a beautiful race here if the weather holds."
He added: "I only have good memories. I leave with good memories, the best experiences and a lot of good friends who I hope will remain friends with throughout the future.
"I was just saying to them that even though I'll be with Mercedes I'll probably go back to have lunch because the food is great there [at McLaren]. I hope Mercedes hospitality lives up to it."
Lewis Hamilton says one day he'd like to return to McLaren but first wants to experience new challenges with Mercedes.
Felipe Massa says he hopes he can win the Brazilian Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso still taking the drivers' championship.
Alonso needs to finish on the podium to have any chance of winning the championship, with Sebastian Vettel requiring only a top four finish to secure a third consecutive title. Having taken a grid penalty at the United States Grand Prix last weekend to promote Alonso one place on the grid Massa was asked how he would try to help his team-mate this weekend, but said victory is all that's on his mind.
"Well first of all I'll try to win a third time," Massa said. "I think that's always the right direction to think about racing, you're always thinking about the victory. Here is a very special place for me and I'm going to try to win. Hopefully Fernando can finish second without any problems to win the championship."
Massa's performance in Austin was impressive as he outpaced Alonso for the whole weekend and he said he's managed to achieve close to the maximum result at every race since the summer break.
"I think it was a very difficult season compared to others. Struggling in some races, some other races I was not struggling but I couldn't put together the result; something always happened in a few races I couldn't finish in the right position. I would say after August everything was better, I was able to put together almost the right result at every race so I think it was a very good second part of the season and very good preparation for next year."
Last edited by Nin-Chin on 22 Nov 12, 21:20, edited 3 times in total.
A fan of many forms of motorsport. Also made the first post in 2014 on this forum.
Mark Webber....? He's lovely.
and walk off.........................*
but going off track could be a mistake I guess... ah well, you gotta go balls to the wall in those situations!!
