Button refuses to concede defeat despite Alonso's 42-point title lead

Jenson Button would never forgive himself if he threw in the towel now on his hopes of retaining his Formula One world title. Button's chances of recapturing the crown he won 12 months ago in Brazil are slim given he trails Fernando Alonso by 42 points.

With Button also knowing he has to overhaul the Red Bull pairing of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, as well as McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the 30-year-old faces a formidable task. Effectively, Button, who has not won a grand prix since the fourth race of the year in China, has to take the chequered flag in the last two events to have any prospect of becoming Britain's first back-to-back world champion.

Despite the daunting prospect, Button said: "I've always said I will fight until it's mathematically impossible. Sure, looking at it written down on paper, you've got to admit it's a long shot. But I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I chose not to go for it, and then circumstances transpired to give me a full run at the title.

"So for me the situation's the same – I'll be fighting until it's no longer possible for me. In Formula One you just never know. It's totally possible I could win at Interlagos, take home maximum points and have none of the other title contenders finish. If it's another wet race, that could easily happen. Basically, you learn early on in this sport it's not over until it's over."

Button will need a supercharged showing on the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo and will also require the car to be far more to his liking after complaining of poor tyre performance in the cool conditions during the inaugural Korean Grand Prix weekend. He also suffered from a a lack of pace, nervousness and wheel-locking that all conspired to push him back to a 12th-place finish. But as with any sportsman in his situation Button has to believe the team will ultimately come good for him.

"Our performance has been a little bit up and down recently," added Button on his personal website. "We nearly had the pace to win in Monza, we looked faster than the Red Bulls in Singapore, and our race pace was very good at Suzuka, so it's difficult to say precisely where we are.

"In Korea, we looked extremely quick during the practice sessions, only to see that pace narrow in qualifying and the race, so I think we have every reason to still feel optimistic. For Brazil, we're bringing more updates to the car, and that's something that's always impressed me about this team. The pace of development is just incessant, and everybody is so determined to make the car faster. We're always trying out new parts and making changes."