Ferrari targeting McLaren’s Jenson Button in place of Felipe Massa – Formula 1 news
It has been revealed that Ferrari are planning to replace Felipe Massa with McLaren’s Jenson Button.
According to sources, Ferrari have realised they need a more competitive partner for their stronger driver Fernando Alonso.
“They (Ferrari) have already checked to see if he would be available. The team realise they need a stronger partner for Fernando Alonso than Felipe Massa if they want to win the title again,” sources revealed.
It was further revealed that after the first two or three races of the 2011 season, there was a lot of talk about Button joining Ferrari in place of Felipe Massa. However, the team was waiting for the right time and did not make any announcement about it.
Recently, the McLaren driver refused to extend his three-year contract with his current team. Button said that he sees ‘no sense’ in signing a new long-term deal with McLaren.
Jenson Button recently overtook Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull in the final lap to win the Canadian Grand Prix. In addition, he took a good start in the ongoing 2011 season, as he was at the second place podium in the Malaysian Grand Prix. That was the time
when Ferrari thought of replacing Massa with Button.
Ferrari said that they want a strong teammate for Alonso, as they think that Massa is not performing well for the team in the season.
Ferrari’s driver, Alonso is moving in the right direction since the last couple of races. He had a disappointing start to the 2011 season, as he was unable to deliver a strong run against the top runners. However, in the Monaco Grand Prix, the two-time world
champion ended up at the second place for the team. After the race, the team was expecting a race victory from him in the recently held Canadian Grand Prix. Due to an accident during the Montreal race, Alonso could not achieve his goal.
On the other hand, his teammate Massa finished his race at the sixth place in Montreal.
After a disappointing result in Montreal, Ferrari are hoping for a successful race weekend in the upcoming Valencia Grand Prix which is scheduled to be held on June 26, 2011.
Tags: