Lewis Hamilton has reiterated the sentiments of his team-mate in light of the recent controversy involving team orders and their possible return.
The FIA decided this week to review article 39.1 following the WMSC hearing into Ferrari’s Hockenheim controversy. The possible outcome of the review could see the return of team-orders, something both McLaren drivers feel strongly against.
In July, just five days after the German GP, Jenson Button claimed he’d walk away from Formula One if such orders became legal.
“I wouldn’t be interested in racing in F1 if, from the first race, you know there was the possibility of being a number one or number two driver,” he said. “What’s the point?
“You’re here to win, to be the best, and you should have equal opportunity to the next guy that’s driving the same car.”
The current championship leader is in agreement, echoing his team-mates stance, though to a lesser degree.
In response to whether he would welcome a freeing up of the use of team orders, the Brit said: “No, I like it just the way it is. The reason is that I would not want to be in that position. I am here to race and I have worked hard to get here,” he told the official F1 site.
“Of course you are always racing for the team but then you also want to win out of your own right – because you deserve to – and to have that denied by team orders would go against everything in my heart. So no, I would not agree.”
