Button pleads calendar stays same

Jenson Button has warned F1 bosses that the calendar cannot get any bigger than the 21 races scheduled for next year.

The McLaren driver competed in just 16 races in his first F1 season in 2000 but the calendar has swelled to 21 next year- which will be the most ever held in one season.

And the 2009 world champion has urged Bernie Ecclestone and his fellow F1 powerbrokers to keep it the same from hereon in.

He said: "For me, it's fine because I love racing and I wish there was another race next weekend.

"It's not an issue for me. I fly in on a Thursday to the European races and I leave on a Sunday night whereas the mechanics work such long hours.

"They spend so much time away from home that 21 races is going to be tough.

"It's difficult for any mechanic or engineer to have a relationship right now.

"For those guys, it's not going to be easy. I just hope it doesn't grow in terms of races for 2017 because I think it will be too much."

The 2016 season will start in Australia in March.

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