Mclaren’s Jenson Button believes Ferrari may have inadvertently given a boost to their rivals by re-hiring former world champion Kimi Raikkonen to join current lead driver Fernando Alonso.
Button, speaking ahead of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, said the decision was “great for us” and predicted difficulties at Ferrari as next season progresses.
The 33-year-old Briton said rather than being a dream pairing, two-time world champion Alonso and “Iceman” Raikkonen, who won the 2007 title with Ferrari, may find it difficult to cooperate.
“We’ll definitely be watching their situation,” Button told AFP.“Ferrari for many years has had two drivers in the team that have been very quick but when it gets to a point in the season, it seems one driver helps the other driver.
“I don’t think that will be the case with Kimi and Fernando -- I don’t think they’ll be trying to help the other driver. A guy that’s achieved what they’ve achieved will not want to be helping out his team-mate.”
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has warned that the partnership could be “explosive”, while Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko reportedly said the strong-willed duo could tear the team apart.
Button said Alonso would probably leverage his long personal history within the team to keep staff on his side when Raikkonen arrives from lotus. “I’m sure when Kimi walks in that door, Fernando will start talking Italian to all the team personnel. That’s exactly what I would do,” he said at an ExxonMobil promotional event.
“It’s going to be an interesting atmosphere and relationship between those two, especially if Kimi is as quick as Fernando. If Kimi starts out-qualifying Fernando, that will be a big one.”
Button has finished second at the past two Singapore races but his best placing in a disastrous season for Mclaren, blamed on an over-ambitious new car, is fifth.
He said he would stay with the British team next season by exercising a one-year option on his contract. However, the 2009 world champion is less sure about the outlook for 2015. “For next year it’s all good, it’s a formality. Nothing’s sorted yet for the year after,” he said. “2014 is an option year on the previous contract and then we see. I’m very excited about the future.”
‘We will try TO BE AT OUR BEST FOR Indian Gp’
New Delhi: It has not been the best of seasons for Force India’s Adrian Sutil, as out of 12 races he has managed to score points in just five, but the German racer says he will try to be in best shape before the Indian Grand Prix as it won’t be on the F1 calender next season.
Sutil’s best result came in Monaco, where he finished fifth, while he retired in three races. Ever since Pireli changed the tyres after drivers raised safety concerns following blow outs at Silverstone, Force India have been struggling to adapt.
After the British Grand Prix, the team could add just two points to its tally from four races. “I want to come to India as successful as possible. At the moment there are some problems after tyre change and the balance of the car is not that good but it should improve. It’s a nice place. The circuit is also so nice. We will try to be in the best shape (for Indian GP),” Sutil said from Singapore.
Sutil, who has been with the team since his Spyker days, said dropping Indian Grand Prix from the 2014 season was unfortunate. “It is disappointing, it looked (set) for a longer future but that’s how it is. I just hope it’s there in 2015 again. I am just a driver and we need to get on with it.
“It is one of the highlights, it (BIC) has some good hard corners,” he added.
Kimi Raikonnen has secured a drive with Ferrari for the next season and it is expected that a few more changes could be seen in the 2014 drivers’ line-up. Sutil said if he gets a better opportunity, he will surely grab it.
“At the moment it is nice to race with Force India. I enjoy my work but I am open for my future,” Sutil said.
With only seven races left in the season, Force India andMclaren are locked in an interesting battle for the fifth position on the constructors’ championship.
Force India were leading Mclaren on the back of a tremendous first half but the British side snatched the fifth place in Belgium.
Now only five points separate the two teams but Sutil felt it won’t be an easy job for them to displace Mclaren. “It is still close. It is not easy job. We still have a chance. Sixth is not bad but we would like to compete for the fifth place,” Sutil who has scored 25 of teams’ 61 points.
“We are trying to sort. We are not going to bring more updates, so what ever development had to be done has been done. Hopefully we will maximise. We are not going to give up and there’s no need to worry.”
There is a perception that Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso may not gel well and that it may spell trouble for Ferrari, giving advantage to their rivals.
Mclaren’s Jenson Button and Massa — whom Raikkonen will replace — have said Ferrari will struggle to keep two champions in tandem.
Sutil said it will be interesting to see what happens. “It is something very interesting. They are great drivers and it’s a historical team. They are quite competitive.”