MOTOR SPORT SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX:JENSON BUTTON is aware he has to adopt an aggressive approach for the rest of the Formula One season if he is to retain his title.
Button and the four other championship contenders are separated by just 24 points heading into the year’s long-haul finish as drivers face five fly-away races in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
It is a mouthwatering prospect which leaves no margin for error, as the smallest mistake could have significant consequences when it comes to the final shake-up.
Button, however, also appreciates he can leave no stone unturned in his quest to become the first British driver to win back-to-back titles, and with different teams after claiming the crown with Brawn GP last year.
From his perspective, 22 points behind championship leader Mark Webber and 17 adrift of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Button is relishing his role of hunter this season compared to a year ago when he was the hunted.
“It’s a great feeling, it really is,” Button said ahead of this weekend’s race around the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore. “If you’d have said to me last year, if I’d been 10 points behind, ‘you’re attacking for the last five races’, I would say ‘no, I’m not, because I don’t have a car to do that’.
“But this year I do. I’ve a very competitive car, and although the next race will be more tricky for us, I’m attacking and it’s exciting.
“I’m not going to sit back and hope for a good result or try and be consistent. I did that over the second half of last year and mentally it’s very tough.
“But when you’re behind and you’re chasing and you have a good car, you can be more aggressive, and for me every race I go into I have to be aggressive. I can’t sit back and hope to get good points.”
At least Button is relishing the prospect of returning to Singapore this weekend as he feared a year ago his title dreams were slipping away at the Far East venue.
“The end of the year was so tough for me,” added Button. “In Singapore I remember saying on the in-lap in qualifying ‘we’ve thrown this championship away’, but this year I go there excited.
“I still finished fifth, even though I qualified 11th. I just won’t make it that hard on myself this time.
“But yeah, I’m excited. You’ve two Brits who are fighting it out, so we should be happy.”
The stress levels are one of the noticeable elements considerably different for the 30-year-old, who said: “I don’t feel like I’m under any pressure at all, it’s quite weird.
“I’m just going to every race enjoying it, although I still wake at nights when I’m not racing feeling frustrated when I’ve not had a good race. I’m thinking about racing a lot, which is annoying because sometimes you need to get away from it.
“But I feel a lot more relaxed. I go to every race just to enjoy it, and if the end result is as good as I hope it is then it will be amazing.
“If it’s not, it’s not. I’ll live to fight another day and I’ll be back here next year, but at the moment I’m just enjoying my racing and that’s the most important thing for me.”
