Reigning Formula One champion Jenson Button has said that he "wouldn't be interested in racing" if Formula One reintroduced team orders into the sport, suggesting that it would lead to drivers not racing to win.
Team orders have come up for debate in recent days after Ferrari's apparent use of the banned technique to assert Fernando Alonso into the lead of the German Grand Prix.
A number of team bosses have urged the FIA to reintroduce the orders into the sport after they were ostensibly banned in the wake of the controversial Austrian GP in 2002.
But Button said that he would not have any interest in racing in F1 if team orders were involved.
"I wouldn't be interested in racing in F1 if, from the first race, you know there was the possibility of being a No1 or No2 driver. What's the point?" Button was quoted as saying.
"You're here to win, to be the best, and you should have equal opportunity to the guy that's driving the same car. He should also get every opportunity, otherwise it's not a drivers' sport any more, it would be a complete and utter team sport."
He added: "Formula One is a team sport, but when you cross the finishing line you are the person who wins the drivers' championship.
"We have the constructors' and we have the drivers', and that's the way Formula One is. So for me, if it wasn't down to the individual, I wouldn't be interested in racing any more.
"One of the biggest buzzes in F1 is fighting your team-mate, and for me, fighting a world champion is such a buzz. If I suddenly realised he didn't have the same equipment as me, or I was being favoured, then I wouldn't be happy because I would think we'd all been cheated."
He admitted that without team orders a championship challenge might end up being damaged, but said that he still felt it was the right way to go.
"Sometimes it can hurt you having two drivers fighting for a championship," he muttered, "But also it can help because you are pushing each other very hard and developing the car quicker because you are working together.
"So there are positives and negatives to having two fast guys in the team.
"We all want to win the championship and when you cross the line you want to know you've done the best job you possibly can and the team has done the best job they possibly can.
"When you cross the line you want to know you've won a race and a championship in the right way."
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