Vettel too young for title in 2009 – Button

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel's youth and inexperience played against him in 2009, according to new world champion Jenson Button.

Briton Button told Germany's Bild am Sonntag that if Michael Schumacher had been at the wheel of the Red Bull, he would have been pushed much harder for the drivers' title.

"When I was 22 I was nowhere near as good as I am now," Button, 29, told the newspaper.

"I was not necessarily slower, but you're not as smart. I think we saw that with Sebastian. He made enough mistakes to help me out."

The Brawn driver insists he is not being overly critical of Vettel.

"He is good; very good for his age. But we have seen that he still has a lot to learn," said Button. "Over the whole season he was not consistent enough."