Button has Dakar on retirement plans

The world champion says he would like to contest the Dakar Rally when he retires from the Formula One championship but as an individual and for fun only.

Carlos Saínz drives his vehicle during the 14th and last stage.

World champion Jenson Button said on Saturday that he had like to contest the Dakar Rally when he retires from the Formula One world championship. But the British driver, who is set to team-up with 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton at McLaren for the 2010 F1 season, insisted his participation in the Dakar would be as a private entrant and not part of a factory team. "I want to do the Dakar, which would be quite fun," Button said. "If I raced in other formulae it would be because I want to go and have fun. Doing the Dakar, for example, I would want to do it as a privateer, just go there and have fun. It would be such a life experience. "If you get into one of the top teams and you are racing for them, it is just so much pressure. I would want to go there and enjoy the race." The 2010 Dakar ended in Buenos Aires on Saturday with former world rally champion Carlos Sainz of Spain claiming victory. Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally by closely tailing his Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al Attiyah on the final fast stage on Saturday.

Qatar's Al Attiyah started the all-out 14th stage trailing only Sainz by 2 minutes, 48 seconds overall, and won the sprint from San Rafael to San Carlos de Bolivar. But Sainz was only 36 seconds behind in finishing second. After just over 47 hours and two weeks traversing the world's toughest auto race through Argentina and Chile, Sainz finally won the Dakar at his fourth attempt by just 2:12. Sainz said: "It was a tough and daily fight against my team mate. I knew it would be like that." Al Attiyah congratulated his team mate. "What matters is that Volkswagen won," he said, "He did his job, I tried to do mine. Next year I'll win." * Agencies