McLaren driver and 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button has admitted that he and the Woking team were not good enough in the 2010 season to deserve the title, but says that the team are working hard to fight back in 2011.
Button lost his championship crown to Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel in 2010, after the British driver transferred to McLaren from the Brawn GP team at the start of the season.He won two early races in Australia and China, but throughout the rest of the season, Button struggled for results as the McLaren car slipped behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the pecking order.
And he admitted in a Christmas video message on the McLaren website that neither he nor the team had done enough in 2010 to justify another title, saying that he and the team were working on righting the situation in 2011.
"I've had a good year - I've really enjoyed being part of this team," he smiled during the message, "I've had some fantastic results."
But he added: "All in all we weren't quite good enough to win the world championship this year - [we were] second in the constructors', though.
"So we're all working really, really hard to improve the car and improve ourselves for the 2011 season."
He added that his early-season win in Australia was the high point of his season, saying that it had been important for him to secure a win early on in his life with the team, after transferring from Brawn and pitting himself head-to-head against fellow British hype rival Lewis Hamilton.
"That was a very special weekend for me, and a very important weekend in my career with this team, to really show the team what I could do," Button smiled when asked about the Melbourne weekend.
He went on: "But also it really made me feel a part of this team - a team that's fought for so many race wins and also world championships.
"So it was a very emotional moment, and it gave me a lot of confidence in working with my engineers, and also confidence in myself to make the right call when it counted."
Button will stay with the Woking team for 2011, again driving alongside Hamilton.
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