Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
How will Button rate as a champion?
Jenson Button needs at most six points to clinch the Formula One title in Brazil this weekend and become Britain’s 10th world champion.
If he does wrap it up at Interlagos, a debate that has been going on for some weeks now will only pick up speed — just how does the 29-year-old rate as a champion compared to all the others?
There are some who hold the view that Button will somehow not be a truly worthy champion, their opinions influenced by the Brawn driver’s inability to assert himself in the latter part of the season.
Some might argue that champions like Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna or Lewis Hamilton made their greatness evident from the moment they arrived in the sport.
They could add that someone like Button, who had to wait seven years for his first win and scored a total of just nine points in the 2007 and 2008 seasons combined in a dire spell with now-departed Honda, is surely not on a par with them.
Did he simply luck into a dominant car, thanks to rule changes wrong-footing the usual suspects until halfway through the season, or is he being rewarded for his loyalty to a Brawn team that some were writing off as dead and buried back in January?
There is no arguing that, after winning six of the first seven races, Button has struggled. He finished this month’s Japanese Grand Prix in eighth place and is limping agonisingly to the finish, his early advantage seeing him through.
However, he still won those six races pretty emphatically — and he already has one more victory than Hamilton managed last year. Mike Hawthorn, the very first British champion in 1958, bagged the title with just one win.
The championship is fought over 17 races and, however much it riles commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, it is points that win the prizes.
Button may not be one of the greats — that is an accolade reserved for a very special few — but he is surely no less worthy than many, if not most, of the champions who have preceded him.
As a driver, as a sportsman and as a person, he ticks the right boxes.
Button could afford to go all out for victory early in the season, but latterly he has needed to think more strategically. It is all part of the game.
“Everyone is looking for him to clinch the championship as quickly as decisively as possible,” says Britain’s 1996 champion Damon Hill. “But it’s his career, his championship campaign and it may be nerve-racking to watch for those of us who are supporting him.
“But he’s the one facing the challenge, he’s the one doing the job. In situations like this, you just have to do what you think is best at the time.”
Button may not need to be on the podium on Sunday, but if he wins the title anyway will that make it any less deserved?
PHOTO: Brawn GP Formula One driver Jenson Button (L) sits with his girlfriend Jessica Michibata after the Japanese F1 Grand Prix in Suzuka, central Japan October 4, 2009. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
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I think he will overall deserve the title however he will never be classed as a great driver in my opinion. In the 1st half of the season he only had to beat his team mate due to such a superior car. He was also driving relaxed and happy due to him staying in F1 and the knowledge of him having such a great car. There is no pressure that early in the season especially in a car that only just made it to the grid. It was easy for him and yes he drove brilliantly, however since his last win, the other cars have caught up and now he cant perform in the same way. Considering he has so much experience it should have been wrapped up long ago. I hope for Buttons sake that he scores no points in Brazil and vettel or Rubens win. That way he has the opurtunity to really show us that he has what it takes and can handle the pressure in the final race which I hope he would win . To just try and bag a few points is not enough. Look what happened in 2007 and nearly 2008. It is very hard to drive conservativly and anything can happen. He only needs an engine failure and his once certain title is looking less likely. If that happens it his is own fault for being to cautous in the 2nd half of the season. I hope he can do it otherwise his reputatuon will be shot, he will never be thought of in the same light as Hamilton, Alonso and alike. He doesnt even have a race seat yet for next year which must tell you something. You would have though Brawn would have resigned him long ago. Lets hope he can pull it off.
I think he will be a worthy world champion because:
1) He’s won the most races
2) He has driven his car consistantly to its maximum
3) He has, except Spa, consistently scored points when not winning
4) He hasn’t crashed out due to erratic driving
5) He has beaten everybody else so far when it matters, either winning or scoring points
6) He does not make silly mistakes when it matters (although you could argue that his qualifying performances haven’t been brillaint of late.)
When Jenson won 6 out of seven everyone was raving about JB and BrawnGP. Then suddenly it’s the “it’s getting boring” and the tabloid mentality locks in and everyone has to criticise him. I think we’re being a bit unfair. I think he deserves it as much as Hakkinen, Schumacher, Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton etc etc.
He’s made some GREAT overtaking maneuvers this year, which have been criticial to his race strategys, He has managed to overtake Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen, Massa, Alonso, Kovalainen. Having the best car is part of the combination, you’ll still got to be good enough to make the most of it. From what i’ve seen the field has gotten closer (we had Force India NEARLY winning a GP), and i think Brawn haven’t really developed their car, if anything they’ve gone backwards, I think Jensons done a brillaint job this year.
Just my opinion
Saying that Jenson has done better this year than Hamilton did last year is hardly much of an endorsement – no other driver in history has been so lucky as to drop straight into a top team in his first years in F1, and his performance this year has left a lot to be desired.
Yeah lets lay off Jenson, firstly he has always been a tidy no mistakes driver,allways ready to get stuck in too. remember his duals with sato villneuve (who he trashed) and the feisty Columbiam guy who’s name I think was triple barrelled.He’s allways outclassed his team mate consistentl remember the younger Shuey? He did make a dire contractual decision mid career by signing for Honda when he meant to be with Williams. however he’s allways stuck with it even in the many mediocre to bad cars he’s had. The long Honda BAR lock in did him no favours until this year. the others have caught up with their mega dollar budgets, he’s needed to drive cleverly saving tyres engine and car. to finish first etc etc you gotta finish. so a nice guy non sulky when the going gets tough ,please please don’t put it in the pit wall , and come home with the goods. you deserve it. i still remember how the doubters slated Mansell in his day.Just drive mate good luck
JB has shown that he has the qualities to be a great champion. Yes there were dry times when he seemed to be just hanging out there not entirely focussed but he is indeed now a member of the “big hitters” club.
Whilst i do not share the view that he has done better than Hamilton did last year, i am hoping that he will podium Brazil and at the very least win the 2009 championship.
Good luck mate
This debate is a nonsense because the sport is entirely dominated not by personal skill, but by the machinery and the machinery of big business. Anyone who had any illusions about the reality of F1 surely lost them with the Renault saga? The drivers are just pawns – no disrespect to Button who seems to me (rarely in this mind-numbingly boring sport) to be pretty good at what he does and rather a good egg as well.
So does this mean that when Button is declared World Champion the only driver that we can be 100% sure he is better than is Barrichello?
The year belongs to Brawn GP,they have come up as the best team technically beating the dominant forces Ferrari and Mclaren.Formula One has always depended on speed and luckily this year Brawn GP are the fastest,all praises for the technical team. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello drive the same cars and here comes the capability of the driver into the picture.Button has six wins under his belt where as, the Brazilian has managed only two wins. Off late the Brawns have struggled with cold and tyres but overall they have been the fear factor at the F1 circuits.
Had only skills mattered in the sport,then the likes of Hamilton,Massa and Alonso’s would not be struggling to beat Jenson Button.
syndicate you really don’t understand the conversation here. Do we all beleive that the team that win the world cup are always the best team. No they are the team that were 1.competitive and skillful, 2 made the most of each match despite the opposition and conditions on the day, 3 maximised the opportunities 4 minimised the bad luck in any sport and were consistent. Formula 1 as in any motorized sport has the added dimension of the mechanics and science involve which can always go wrong. Button has maximised the good times minimised the damage on bad days finised all but one race in the points. you are missing the point that it is not just about going hell for leather and ending up in the wall or another car. Button is smooth ,dos’nt (and never has bar one incident in monaco) crashed a car in a race (again forget the saftey car incident in his first year) he is a patient strategist brave overtaker but dosn’t make a big fuss over it. He will be champ the result of 9 years in uncompetitive cars,Rubens had the same chances day one and is playing catchup to early season poor form. Neither you ,i, or anyone else can say who is best because we will never see them all together in the same equipment head to head although I suspect it would be the gutsy and skilled Alonso.
Why are people knocking Button? he has been the most consistent driver, will have won the most races and has put the performances in when they mattered. Vettel has been rash and uncontrolled at points, Rubens hasn’t taken the advantage in the same way as Button did at the start of the season. They had identical machinary, both had a big advantage and lets not forget Button 17 points ahead and only fighting Barrichello – if Sepang had gone the distance, he would have an additional 5 points, Rubens would only have 2 more and Vettel was nowhere near scoring, so Jenson SHOULD have 80 points, Rubens 73 and Vettel 69. So not all the luck then…
Winning a 17-race championship is about getting as many decent results as possible, including actually finishing races. How many times has the Premiership been won by teams who have ground out 1-0 wins when those around them were either winning or losing 7-goal thrillers?
The comment that F1 is not about the drivers is also a load of trubbish. If you want to see why, check out Luca Badoer and Fisi in the Ferrari compared to Massa and Kimi, or the gulf between the McLaren pair. The machinary is needed yet I am sure Kimi still has nightmares about green, orange and white cars stalking him for lap after lap. Force India have gone from no-hopers to copetitive cars (at some circuits, anyway) in a short space of time. One-in-three of the field have won this year (7 drivers) and 40% of the constructors have won. No few than 12 drivers have made the podium. To win races, you need a good driver and a good car, to win championship you need a great driver and a great car. A great driver in an inferior car (Hamilton, Alonso this year) will still massively out-perform their team-mate and the car itself.
I sincerely hope Jenson wins on Sunday to shut everyone up, though I can’t really see that happening. Anyone who says he doesn’t deserve the title needs their head looking at tbh.
Daljeet’s mention of Mika Hakkinen is pertinent. Don’t forget that the Finn had to wait an age (96 races) before his first win with McLaren. If Button (who took 113 races to get to the top of the podium) does take the title, it will be interesting to watch how he goes next year when he will undoubtedly feel more liberated. Not suggesting he could do a Mika and win two in a row but we might see a bit more of the real racer.