JENSON BUTTON and Lewis Hamilton joined forces last night to plead with Formula One's squabbling bosses: Sort out this mess!

The British greats had a nightmare time on the track at Silverstone and both knew they had no chance of giving the 110,00 sell-out crowd a home win on Sunday afternoon.

Jenson Button: I can't win the British Grand Prix - Click here for full story

Button finished sixth in the British Grand Prix with Hamilton taking 16th after starting 19th on the grid - the WORST qualifying of his career.

But the duo had headed into the Silverstone spectacle with the racing overshadowed by the ugliest civil war in the championship's 60-year history.

Button's Brawn GP outfit and Hamilton's McLaren have joined six other teams who are ready to tear F1 apart by forming a rival series next year in a row over money and how the sport is run.

But Button is hoping that common sense will finally break out between FIA President Max Mosley and the rebel teams led by Ferrari.

Button, who leads the championship by 26 points, said: "None of this is good for the sport. Hopefully it will be resolved. There is still a long way to go but I want them to sort it out. That's what we all want.

FAN FURY - Silverstone fans show what they think of the political battle

"We have a sell-out crowd here and they have come to watch the racing. They haven't come to see the politics and hopefully we can sort it out and go racing and enjoy it.

"But when you are driving you don't think about the politics. Driving is my job and that's what I concentrate on. It is the team principals and team owners who have been busy in meetings over the last few weeks, not the drivers."

Hamilton, who trails Button by a massive 52 points, backed up his fellow Brit. The Herts-born racer, 24, said: "It is a tough time for the sport right now.

BRAWN LOSER - Jenson Button is only sixth on the grid

"I hope that I will be racing in F1 next year because I want another shot at winning the world championship. But regardless of what championship I am racing in, and I am not bothered, I want to win every race next year."

Hamilton revealed in the News of the World last week that he would quit F1 and race in a rival series.

And now Button insists he is ready to follow his Brawn team into a rival series if the long-running dispute with Mosley is not resolved.

WHAT A LEW-SER - Lewis Hamilton could only put his McLaren 19th on the grid

Button, 29, added: "I'm sure every driver involved with a FOTA team agrees with what they have got to say. As a driver you want to be racing against the best in the world and that's what I want to do at the moment.

"I want that to continue and with teams that have been doing it for many years. To beat Ferrari in races is an amazing feeling and if we didn't have that situation next year it would be very different.

"So if racing against the best teams and drivers is what I want to be doing then I don't mind where it is. As long as we are racing - that is the key for me."

CRASH LANDING - Adrian Sutil walked away from a 150mph crash which destroyed his Force India car

Mosley has launched a £1billion legal writ against the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) for breach of contracts that could overshadow the sport for months.

The motor racing chief fears major manufacturers will pull out of the sport unless he can reduce costs and attract new teams. FOTA insist its members are ready to cut costs but are furious at the way Mosley introduced next year's technical changes.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been forced into the peacemaker role and he is confident the dispute will be resolved.

Ecclestone said: "I'm sure we'll find a way. At the moment we have the federation, people like us and the teams. That is how it should stay. Everyone should stay in their own position, doing what they should be doing.

NUMBER ONE - Sebastian Vettel shows his joy at winning pole position

"In the end people will have enough sense not to bust this business up for what? Basically nothing. I am sure it will be sorted out in the end. And soon I hope."

But F1 legend Michael Schumacher yesterday became the latest big name to support the prospect of a breakaway.

The seven-time champion said: "I find it extremely unfortunate that in Formula One recently there is so much talk about politics and so little about sport. I really hope those political games will soon be ended. They got on my nerves during all my career.

"Because in the end doesn't it all come down to one simple fact? Motorsport is a great sport; Formula One has always been the best of it and has to remain the pinnacle.

RED-Y FOR ANYTHING - Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull car on the way to pole

"Formula One has always been the platform for the best drivers and the best teams. This is what is admired all over the world, this is what everybody wants to see.

"But if this is constantly put into question due to permanent uncertainty of rules, it is maybe better to really defend that value, leave and establish it somewhere else in a reasonable way.

"It is simply not understandable that all teams share their view on how to approach the reforms, and the governing body still wants to implement something else.

"Of course this seems unimaginable at this moment, but this time all the big teams are sticking together. This makes a new championship much more realistic. It is starting to be a real alternative to me.

"As a motorsport fan I want to watch the best show, which is where the best drivers and the best teams compete with each other."

The most immediate problem facing Button, though, will be today's 60-lap race after he admitted he had no chance of winning.

The Monaco-based racer fears he will be denied a seventh win in eigth races after finishing a massive 0.8sec off the pace set by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

The German, the only other driver to win a race this year, finished just ahead of Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello with Mark Webber third in the other Red Bull.

Button admitted: "I have no chance of winning the race. It is all about damage limitation now and getting some points for the championship. We are just not quick enough and Red Bulls look pretty much unbeatable."

Abort

Hamilton's hopes of making it into the second qualifying session were wrecked when his F1 pal Adrian Sutil destroyed his Force India car.

The German lost control at Becketts and slammed into the tyre wall at 150mph in a session watched by a record 105,000 crowd.

The session was red-flagged and Hamilton had to abort his flying lap with just 26 sec left, leaving him no time to get back out on the track.

He admitted: "I was pushing on that last lap but it was nothing special. We were just dead slow. It was the support of the fans that got me through it. I have had four good years but I've come into a year that is pretty disastrous.

"I was really hoping we'd score points here as we haven't for some time, but starting 19th I will have to give it my all to finish in the top 15."

Leading Grid Positions after Qualifying: 1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 19.509secs, 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:19.856, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:19.868, 4 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.091, 5 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:20.216, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:20.289, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:20.361, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.490, 9 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:20.715, 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:20.741, 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:18.927, 12 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:19.308, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:19.353, 14 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 1:19.392, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:19.448, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:19.802, 17 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.898, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:19.909, 19 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:19.917, 20 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.236

DRIVERS' TABLE

1. J Button (Brawn) 61pts

2. R Barrichello (Brawn) 35

3. S Vettel (Renault) 29

4. M Webber (Renault) 27.5

5. J Trulli (Toyota) 19.5

6. T Glock (Toyota) 13

7. N Rosberg (Will'ms) 11.5

8eq. F Massa (Ferrari) 11

8eq. F Alonso (Renault)11

10eq. K Raikkonen (Ferrari) 9

10eq. L Hamilton (McLaren) 9

11. N Heidfeld (BMW) 6

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