“I think he'll get the job done,” said Ecclestone prior to the Brazilian Grand Prix, admitting that the 29-year old Brit is the one to deserve it the most from the current F1 pack. After all, according to his scrapped medal system earlier this year, Button would have already been champion of Formula One with his 6 wins out of 15 races.
In the end, the current point system seemed to be far more productive in terms of keeping the tension alive until the late stages of the season, as 3 drivers are now battling for the world title with 2 races to go. And, since we're at this point right now, the 78-year old chief executive of F1 would love for the suspense to continue until the Abu Dhabi race.
“I would like to see him do me a big favor and get the world championship clinched in Abu Dhabi, but if he can't wait, well, I understand that,” added Ecclestone.
In order to secure his first F1 championship, Button needs a 3rd place finish at Interlagos. That would allow him to keep a 10-point distance from his nearest rival at the title Rubens Barrichello with one race to go. Considering the number of wins he had this season – 6, as compared to Barrichello's 2 – Button would become world champion.
The last time a driver won the championship before the last race of the season was in 2005, when Fernando Alonso won his first F1 title with 2 rounds to go (ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen).
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