Jenson Button says he “would have loved” to race for Ferrari during his Formula 1 career, admitting there was once an opportunity to do so.
Button’s 17th season in F1 came to an end last weekend in Abu Dhabi and it could well be his last, ahead of his year off in 2017.
The British racer has the option of returning to F1 racing in 2018 with McLaren, but he said throughout the Abu Dhabi weekend he feels it will be his last.
Having debuted in 2000, Button raced for Benetton, Renault, BAR/Honda and Brawn GP before moving to McLaren after his title-winning season in 2009.
“If it was the right situation, yeah of course, I would have loved to drive for Ferrari,” he told Eddie Jordan in an interview with Top Gear.
“Three teams that I wanted to drive for in F1 when I arrived, and they were Williams, Ferrari and McLaren, and I’ve driven for two of them.
“There was an opportunity [to race for Ferrari] at one point, but I thought this [McLaren] was the best place to be.”
With Button looking set to depart F1, he was asked if IndyCar and NASCAR would be of interest to him: “Neither of them. Definitely rallycross, whether it’s in America or it’s the World Championship – one day I would love to race in that.
“Next year I’ll definitely race in rallycross in some form, and test the cars.”
But what about Le Mans? “I’d love to do Le Mans. But it’s finding the right opportunities, the right drive and making sure I’m racing when the sport is in a good place.
“It’s sad that Audi’s left. That’s one competitor gone, which is very sad, and I don’t know how long Porsche is going to be around for either. So, it’s a tricky one, I’d also like to race in Super GT, at Suzuka, which I’m going to do hopefully next year… and who knows what else.”
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