Jenson Button: Lewis Hamilton and I must work together at McLaren

Date published : 23 Jan 2010 - 23:12:14

From the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart to Ferrari's factory in Maranello to Vodafone's UK headquarters in Newbury, the biggest teams will be rolling out their 2010 machines and the best drivers pontificating on their chances of success. Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher the bookies' favourites for the title, in that order will no doubt say they are feeling excited and confident about the challenges ahead. Hot air, the lot of it.  Related ArticlesHamilton: Button and I will spur each otherLewis and Nicole splitLewis Hamilton on the return of Michael SchumacherLewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger split upFormula One: looking ahead to 2010Sport on televisionWith the exception of Schumacher, who is stepping out of retirement at the age of 41, they said much the same last year and look where it got them. The reality is that until the first group test in Valencia, which starts a week on Monday, there is simply no way of knowing which team has best adapted to this year's major rule change; the ban on in-race refuelling which means teams must carry a mountain of gas from the start to last them through to the finish. In amongst the platitudes, though, there will be some fascinating insights into how this season could pan out, mainly from the point of view of intra-team rivalries. Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg team mates to Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher respectively are fifth, sixth and seventh favourites with the bookies. This despite the fact that the first is the reigning world champion, the second has been with Ferrari four years longer than Alonso and nearly took the 2008 world title and the third is 17 years younger than his compatriot. Egos will undoubtedly collide at some, if not all, of these teams over the months ahead and their body language this coming week will be intriguing to watch. Button, for one, sees himself on an entirely even keel with Hamilton. He told us this week he is 'a lot more confident' as both a driver and a person than he was in 2009. 'I deserved to be world champion,' he said defiantly, 'but there are still areas that I can improve on which is great news for me. Not so good for everyone else but great news for me.' McLaren have had two world champions in their team before, the highly acrimonious partnership between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna eventually ending in tears. It begs the question: can two Alpha males really exist in one team? 'I think we're quite different people from those two although strangely enough our helmet colours are the same,' Button said. 'Look, of course we're going to be fierce rivals. But if we're fighting for sixth or seventh, in reality who cares? If we're fighting for first that's what counts. And the only way we'll be fighting for first is if we work together.' A nice sentiment and one that will no doubt be repeated across Europe over the coming days. Whether the fireworks can remain under wraps remains to be seen.