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McLaren driver Jenson Button has revealed that if the team order rule that came into play after Ferrari told Rubens Barrichello to move over on the final lap of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix and allow Michael Schumacher through for the win come back into play, he will quit the sport.
The reigning world champion doesn’t want to be involved in a sport where one driver in the team is restricted from racing, especially when there is still a strong mathematical chance of winning the crown for both team members as there would be no point in racing....
"I wouldn't be interested in racing in F1 if, from the first race, you know there was the possibility of being a number one or number two driver. What's the point?" he said. "You're here to win, to be the best, and you should have equal opportunity to the next guy that's driving the same car. He should also get every opportunity otherwise it's not a drivers' sport any more, it would be a complete and utter team sport.”
"Formula 1 is a team sport, but when you cross the finishing line you are the person who wins the drivers' championship. We have the constructors' and we have the drivers', and that's the way Formula 1 is. So for me, if it wasn't down to the individual, I wouldn't be interested in racing anymore.”
"One of the biggest buzzes in F1 is fighting your teammate, and for me, fighting a world champion is such a buzz. If I suddenly realised he didn't have the same equipment as me, or I was being favoured, then I wouldn't be happy about that because I'd think we'd all been cheated."
"Sometimes it can hurt you having two drivers who are fighting for a championship. But also it can help because you are pushing each other very hard and developing the car quicker because you are working together. So there are positives and negatives to having two fast guys in the team.”
“Personally, we all want to win the championship and when you cross the line you want to know you've done the best job you possibly can and the team has done the best job they possibly can. When you cross the line you want to know you've won a race and a championship in the right way. It does mean a lot to you, and I've never done it any other way."
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