• 2010 Season

Button will not have it easy - Vettel

ESPNF1 Staff
March 9, 2010 « Fighting fit Webber happy with 'dark horse' status | »
Sebastian Vettel thinks the McLaren rivalry will be the one to watch © Getty Images
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Sebastian Vettel has warned Jenson Button he will have a tough fight on his hands going up against Lewis Hamilton this year at McLaren.

Vettel has picked the British rivalry as the most interesting on this year's grid and said Hamilton's previous form against Fernando Alonso in 2007, when the pair had a bust up at McLaren, is proof Button will not have it easy.

"You've got two British drivers in a British team - with Hamilton and Button at McLaren," Vettel told The Guardian. "I don't think it's going to be easy for Jenson. Lewis is very quick and he has known this team for many years. You can see what he did back in 2007 when Fernando Alonso was at McLaren."

He added that he was thankful to be alongside Mark Webber at Red Bull for a second year and believes their strong relationship will breed good results.

"I think the most spectacular combination is me and Mark because everyone knows we don't have a problem," he said. "Of course I want to beat him every time, and he wants to beat me, but we get along well."

He also said that he was glad to be rid of his title of 'The Next Michael Schumacher' and was now ready to prove himself against the seven-time world champion head-to-head.

"They used to call me 'Baby Schumi'," Vettel said. "I didn't like it but I understood. In Britain, when you had Nigel Mansell, a national icon, the question after him was always the same, 'Who is the next Nigel Mansell?' The only one you didn't get it with was Eddie The Eagle because he was not much good."

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