• 2011 title fight

Easier for Alonso to hunt Vettel - Button

Jenson Button in the paddock on Thursday © Getty Images

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Jenson Button believes Fernando Alonso could be the best-placed driver to overhaul Sebastian Vettel's huge championship lead, as his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa is out of the fight.

Red Bull's Mark Webber admitted on Thursday that he does not think any single driver will be able to dominate the remaining eight races - as Vettel did at the start of the season - and that he needs his Red Bull team-mate to retire from a couple of rounds to stand a chance. Button agrees it will be tough for Webber as the Red Bull driver has to narrow an 85-point lead in an identical car, whereas he and McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton could have an advantage over Vettel in the MP4-26, which has won the last two races.

However, Button believes Alonso is in the best position of all behind Vettel as, assuming Ferrari stay in with a chance of winning races, the Spaniard will not have to fight off team-mate Massa, who is all but out of the title race.

"It's going to be more difficult for Mark because obviously he's in the same car as Sebastian," Button said on Thursday. "If he's quick, it's more than likely that Sebastian is going to be quick also. He might take points off him but there is every chance at the next race Seb will get him back. It's easier for us and obviously the easiest for Fernando, who if his car is quick is going to win.

"We're in a reasonably good position. We have to beat Seb at every race we go into and that's the only way to beat him in the championship. It's a long shot for all of us to be fair, but we're going to hang onto it and we're going to fight right the way through to the end."

Asked if McLaren will be strong compared to Red Bull on the relatively low-downforce Spa-Francorchamps circuit at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, Button said: "Well they weren't as strong here last year and they weren't as strong in Monza either, but then again in Hungary last year they were two seconds quicker than us and they weren't this year. They are completely different cars to what we had last year so possibly they will work very well here.

"We've done work in the simulator and we have a different package here, as you would have for a low downforce circuit, and it seems to be working very well - it doesn't really feel like low downforce, which is nice. I think everyone is doing so much with the diffusers these days that the wing levels are going to have a lot less drag, but with high downforce [levels]. I think that's always going to be way with the way the racing is now, using the diffuser so much."

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