Button should help Hamilton now, thinks Horner

If Christian Horner was in charge at McLaren, Jenson Button would be relegated to a supporting role for the rest of the 2010 season.

After a catastrophic day in Korea for Red Bull, where both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber retired, the team’s boss said both drivers will still be given a clear run to the Abu Dhabi finale.

A smarter strategy might be to fully back Webber, who is 11 points shy of Fernando Alonso’s new championship lead, while Vettel is asked to play a supporting role due to his 25 point deficit.

"It would be wrong to do that. Our strategy will be to push both drivers," a dejected Horner told BBC television in Korea.

Meanwhile, at McLaren, Jenson Button - now 42 points behind the lead - all but conceded the championship in the Yeongam darkness.

But when asked if he will now merely help his teammate Lewis Hamilton bridge his more realistic 21 point gap to Alonso, Button told reporters: "I won’t be asked."

Horner thinks the Briton should help Hamilton, however.

"That’s a different situation," said the Red Bull chief. "It’s a bit of a no brainer; I mean, there’s only 50 points available.

"But I don’t run McLaren, that’s their issue, not mine," he added.

Button will help Hamilton ’voluntarily’ - Whitmarsh

"For us, the strategy is clear," McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. "We don’t really have to say anything to our drivers.

"Jenson will offer his help to Hamilton voluntarily, because he knows that we have treated him fairly throughout the year. And because he knows that he will win now only with a miracle," added the Briton.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Vettel are separated by a smaller points margin, but Whitmarsh said "logic dictates that all the eggs are now put in the Webber basket".

"But this team’s heart beats for Vettel," he insisted. "There has been so much unrest that I am not expecting a clear statement from them."