Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Webber urges Button to quit F1

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Mark Webber has told Jenson Button he should quit F1 as he believes it is "unlikely" he will have a competitive car next year.

Button moved to McLaren after winning the world championship with Brawn in 2009, but his future was uncertain last year until he was eventually retained ahead of Honda's return to F1. With Honda struggling so far this year and McLaren only scoring a total of 17 points in the opening 12 races, Button has hinted he may not remain with the team next season.

Webber - who left F1 in 2013 to race for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship - says he believes Button would enjoy a move to sportscars.

"To know he's going into a race and has no chance is mentally very difficult," Webber told BBC Radio 5 live. "I'd love to see him try something different, try sportscars.

"I get frustrated watching his situation. I want to see him in a competitive car but is that going to happen next year? Unlikely.

"JB, the type of guy he is, gutsy and a dark horse, he would love the environment where it's a little less tense."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.