I needed a new challenge - Button

2009 World Champion Jenson Button declared to the 'BBC' that he chose to switch teams not for the money but for the new challenge it provides. Button was announced this week as the new team mate of Lewis Hamilton with McLaren for 2010.

Button said: "I thought the challenge of going up against Lewis in his environment would be exciting. I'm earning less than I would have at Brawn, so it's not for money - everyone involved knows that's the case."

"Not many people are ever in that position I found myself in. At the end of 2008, I was excited about 2009 with Honda, but that ended on 5 December and I was lost - I didn't know where I'd be racing; when I jumped into the Brawn car in March and realised we had a monster, it was a special feeling for the whole team after what we'd been through. I'm not sure if that emotion will ever be there again.

"After winning the championship, it was a strange feeling - I was happy for myself and for the people who'd helped me along the way but immediately it was, 'What happens for me now I've achieved my initial dream?' After a couple of days I realised I needed a new challenge.

"Where I'm going to be next year, and who I'm going to be with, I know it'll be a big challenge. It's so exciting for me knowing that I'm heading into a season and it'll be a proper fight - it won't be easy, I know that.

"I was in a comfort zone and, coming to McLaren, I won't have that - it's something I need to work on but it's part of the buzz of a new challenge. Lewis Hamilton is an exceptional talent, so it's not going to be easy for me or for him, but we've started thinking about 2010 and how we can work together."

The press has been very critical about the decision of Button to switch Brawn GP, now known as Mercedes GP, for McLaren. According to them, he has committed career suicide as he will never be favoured by the team of Martin Whitmarsh and Ron Dennis.