London, Mar 28 : British Formula One driver Jenson Button fears world champion and fellow countrymen Lewis Hamilton is an accident waiting to happen, with both his No. 1 status and welfare on the race circuit under threat.

A troubled Hamilton insists his McLaren is so uncompetitive that he may fail to win a point.

Button warns his British rival to expect an unfamiliar shunt or two if he is left fighting it out for the minor places instead of roaring away at the front of the grid.

"Lewis will do the best job he can. But it is not an easy position being in the pack and the problem is when you are in that pack and try and push a bit harder, you are going to have more accidents," The Sun quoted Button, as saying.

"You do crash more often. That might happen with Lewis this year. The view of him should not change because he's a champ and achieved something great. He has achieved a goal most people never achieve. But this year is going to be interesting for McLaren because they are not as competitive as they have been the last couple of years," he added.

Hamilton's troubles were underlined when he could finish only 18th out of 20 in opening practice yesterday on the Albert Park track where he roared to victory in the season's opener last year.

He launches his bid to become the first Brit in history to win back-to-back championships, Hamilton said: "If we think optimistically, then we can get a point. But I don't think so, somehow. But we have to stay positive. Anything can happen and we can get some points. Last year only seven cars finished the race so anything is possible." (ANI)