Teaming up with Alonso at McLaren F1 would not scare Button
The McLaren drivers for 2015 are not yet known. However, Jenson Button has indicated that he would not be afraid of collaborating with Fernando Alonso, should the latter decide to join him at Woking.
The McLaren-Honda driver duo for 2015 has not yet been officially announced by the team. The announcement is expected to be made before the end of the season, according to Eric Boullier.
The most persistent rumor suggests Fernando Alonso might leave Ferrari, to be replaced by Sebastian Vettel, alongside Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion would thus retain his place in Woking after having been under threat for a while. Nevertheless, nothing is official yet, and the Briton’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
Asked about the duo he would form with the Spanish double world champion, the Frome native assured that he didn’t fear such cohabitation: « Nothing scares me about working with a world champion. I’ve worked with two of them: Jacques Villeneuve when I was young and Lewis Hamilton for three seasons. »
In 2003, Jenson Button joined BAR Honda, with Jacques Villeneuve as his teammate. The Briton then dominated the Quebec native, finishing with 17 points compared to 6 for Villeneuve, who was often the victim of technical failures, and was even dismissed on the eve of the final race of the season.
Following his championship win at the end of 2009, Jenson Button signed with McLaren where Lewis Hamilton had been crowned champion in 2008. In 2010 and 2012, the latter finished ahead of his teammate in the overall standings, whereas in 2011, Button finished as vice-world champion, with 43 more points.
« I am not afraid of any teammate, and I find it exciting to get to know a new person and their way of working, because it’s not always as one might have thought from the outside, » he explained, for Autosport.
He doesn’t fail to acknowledge the work of his young teammate, Kevin Magnussen, who is also in uncertainty: « I love working with teammates who give their all, who are technically sure in understanding a race car and how to handle settings, and who are completely open. These are things that Kevin really has. He came in without experience, so at the beginning, the car’s development relied heavily on me, but he learned very quickly about settings. I believe we have very similar feelings and direction, so it has been really great working with Kevin. »
