Button: I can win titleposted in F102 | 09 | 2010
TEN DAYS before he tackles the high speed demands of Monza and the Italian Grand Prix, defending world champ Jenson Button remains confident he can still retain his title .... despite being 35 points behind his team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Button, who still can't understand the overtaking move which saw Sebastian Vettel spear his Red Bull into the side of the Englishman's McLaren at Spa last Sunday, knows he needs a reverse of fortune if he's to get back into the title mix. But he's not ruling out a fightback.
"It was definitely a mistake, but I was the person who paid the price"
"I was very dejected after the race in Spa and was very down, but in reality 35 points is not that much," he said. "If you look in the old money of last year's points system, it equates to 14 points, which is not a lot of points.
"It's a win and a fifth place, so it is all still to play for and, as it heats up in the final six races, there is going to be a lot more action. It will be about staying out of trouble and every race I go to I have to be fighting for victory.
"I've got a great team-mate in Lewis"
"Seb called me after the race in the evening to apologise for the accident he caused, which was good, but it doesn't give me my points back. He didn't do it on purpose. It was definitely a mistake, but I was the person who paid the price. That's the pity for me. But we've got to put that behind us and look forward now."
And Button ruled out any thoughts that his McLaren bosses were ready to put their combined weight behind the title charge of Hamilton, thus prioritising the 2008 champion's bid to be crowned again this year.
"No, we won't," he said. "It's a very fair team; we've seen that in the past. And that's why I wanted to join this team. I've got a great team-mate in Lewis, we've both won world championships in the past, and the great thing is we are given equal equipment.
"It is exactly what it should be and that is the way you want to win a championship. I'm still fighting for the title and to keep the world championship trophy in my living room."
CJ