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Button still unprepared to help Hamilton

ESPN Staff
September 11, 2012 « Bianchi and Rigon to share Ferrari duties | 'Mercedes offer him much greater freedom on the commercial side' »
Jenson Button is now 41 points behind his team-mate Lewis Hamilton © Sutton Images
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Jenson Button says McLaren will be wasting its time if it asks him to support Lewis Hamilton's title challenge.

Having faced similar questions before the Belgian Grand Prix, Button reignited his own title challenge with victory at Spa. One week later, however, he retired from the Italian Grand Prix as Hamilton won the race to move second in the championship standings, and Button has now slipped 78 points behind Fernando Alonso.

With a deficit larger than three race victories with seven races left, Button's chances have all but disappeared, but he still said his target was to win all of the remaining races.

"I am sure I will [be asked] but it is a waste of time because the answers are going to be very short," Button is quoted in The Times. "It is going to be very difficult, but nothing is going to change. I am still going to race hard and try to win every race from here on in."

For Hamilton's part, while he feels it is McLaren's best chance to win the drivers' title in many years, he still hinted that he sees Button as title contender as well as being wary of the quiet progress of Kimi Raikkonen.

"It is the closest we have been since 2008," Hamilton said. "We have finally got a car in which we can challenge and compete. We didn't have that in some other years.

"We have obviously had a certain package at the last two races that has been very strong. It's incredible. Kimi got ten points in Italy and I still consider everyone in the top five or six a major title threat."

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