Jenson Button admits he "would have loved to drive for Ferrari" at some point in his Formula One career, which looks likely to be finished after 17 seasons.
Button is taking a one-year sabbatical from the sport in 2017 but admitted during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that it felt like the final race and that he currently has no desire to return in 2018. His career, which started in 2000, included stints with Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn -- where he won his world championship -- before finishing at McLaren.
Button says he ticked off two of the three ambitions he had when entering F1 and that he once turned down an opportunity to have a stint with the iconic Italian team.
"If it was the right situation, yeah of course I would have loved to drive for Ferrari," Button told Eddie Jordan in an interview on the Top Gear website. "There were three teams that I wanted to drive for in F1 when I arrived, and they were Williams, Ferrari and McLaren, and I've driven for two of them.
"There was an opportunity at one point, but I thought [McLaren] was the best place to be."
Button leaves the sport with the third-most starts in the history of Formula One. He is being replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren but thinks the man with the most potential for future world championships is further up the grid at Red Bull.
When asked which of the new generation of drivers he is tipping for future success, Button replied: "Ricky Bobby - Daniel Ricciardo. Max is an amazing talent, and he will, I'm sure, be fighting for the World Championship one day, but I love the way that Daniel Ricciardo has upped his game this year.
"He's the older driver, more experienced driver, but he hasn't cracked under pressure, and I really like that about him. And he's a good guy as well."