Jenson Button has been warned that he cannot rely on the resurgence of McLaren and Ferrari to gift him the Formula One drivers’ championship. Button has failed to finish better than fifth in the past five races and failed to score for the first time this season in yesterday’s Belgian grand prix. Now the Red Bull team have increased the pressure on the Briton by claiming it is only a matter of time before rivals make in-roads into his points lead.
The Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, whose drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are third and fourth in the standings, said: “He can’t continue to have race weekends like he’s had without being punished points-wise in the next couple of events. It’s still a four-horse race between now and the end of the championship.”
Button won six of the first seven races but has been making increasingly heavy work of his title bid as the pressure builds. The Briton, who has 72 points, reacted angrily when his desire for the drivers’ championship was questioned ahead of the race at Spa, but he failed to make a convincing case for himself at the weekend.
His only consolation after being shunted off the track on the first lap – having qualified in 14th – was that his three rivals in his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello, Vettel and Webber failed to cash in. Guardian.co.uk
Button leads his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello by 16 points with a maximum of 50 available, with five races to go.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is a further three points adrift of Button, with his team-mate Mark Webber 20.5 off the lead.
Rubens Barrichello adamant that he will not let the intense pressure of a championship battle effect his driving.
“It’s positive my season has come alive. As for the pressure, it is something that you create in your own head,” Barrichello said.
“I guess pressure will always exist, but I’m quite cool and I’ve been there and done that. It helps that I’ve been with a team such as Ferrari and I’ve seen what happens and lived through it.
“Looking at it, my chances are bigger here. The team cannot say they are going to support one driver over another, because Red Bull are right there as well. They have to support both, and I feel good about that.” Auto Racing Daily
Pos Team Points 1 Brawn-Mercedes 128 2 RBR-Renault 104.5 3 Ferrari 56 4 McLaren-Mercedes 44 5 Toyota 38.5 6 Williams-Toyota 30.5 7 BMW Sauber 18 8 Renault 16 9 Force India-Mercedes 8 10 STR-Ferrari 5
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