NASCAR Cup Series

No pressure for Button this time at Brazilian GP

Published Nov. 4, 2010 4:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

Defending Formula One champion Jenson Button has a different feeling going into the Brazilian Grand Prix this year.

The pressure to win the title is off. The fear of disappointment is gone. All he can do is attack from the start and try to keep his title hopes alive.

The championship was Button's to lose coming into last year's Brazilian GP after he dominated the season with Brawn GP. This time he is only fifth in the drivers' standings and knows he is a longshot to repeat as champion.

''Given the points situation, I know that I face an uphill struggle to hold on to the world title, but I'll be giving it everything I've got this weekend to stay in contention,'' he said. ''I fought hard to become the 2009 world champion, and I won't give up my title without a fight.''

The British driver heads into the second-to-last race of the season with 189 points, 42 behind leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. Button needs to win both races and hope all other drivers in front of him falter, including teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Last year, Button needed only to finish third or better at the Brazilian GP. He acknowledged then the pressure going into the race weekend affected his driving and led to a disappointing qualifying run, forcing him to have to rally just to get in position to win the title.

''When I was here last year I learned an important lesson,'' he said. ''I qualified 14th while my teammate put his car on pole, but when I thought it was almost all over, I threw caution to the wind and drove one of the most attacking, best drives of my F1 career. And that's something that I'll be taking with me into this weekend, when I know I'll not only need a strong result, but also to rely on others failing to score to keep me in the hunt for the championship.''

Button made his way up to fifth place at Interlagos last year, enough to give him the title over then-teammate Rubens Barrichello. He said the demanding, 2.6-mile Interlagos track again gives him an opportunity to impose an attacking style.

''Interlagos is an incredible race track,'' Button said. ''A place where you can race hard, where all your mistakes are punished and where you're really rewarded for attacking. I think our package will be well suited to this circuit.''

The 30-year-old Button won six races in 2009 to cruise to the title, but this year he has had a much more difficult time with McLaren.

He won two of the first four races - in Australia and China - but was not able to remain consistent enough to be a front-runner for the championship at this point of the season.

''He knows better than most that you can't lift the title without being a resolute fighter. That's exactly why we hired him,'' McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said. ''If Formula One has taught us competitors one thing over the past couple of years, it's to never give up hope until the odds are no longer possible, and that the most unexpected outcome can become a very real and viable possibility sooner than you can readily imagine.''