Jenson Button
(15 May 2009)
Until this season, Jenson Button's career since he first appeared on the motor racing scene, has been has to been to a certain extent, in my view, one of promise only to deceive. In his earlier days for instance, he only finished third in the British F3 Championship, while last season Rubens Barichello, who in my view is a fine driver, out-performed him in both qualifying and race results at most of the GPs.
When Jenson first drove for Williams he initially showed great promise, but perhaps unwise choices by himself, his management, or both, meant that he had a series of unproductive years, while it was rumoured in some areas that perhaps his main focus was on enjoying the advantages of an F1 career rather than attending to the hard work and dedication.
He had one win at the Hungaroring, and drove very well in the wet there, but even that result in my view may have been helped by the fact that Alonso retired when in the lead. In the following years he had periods where he was qualifying well and sometimes finished on the podium, but a win always seemed to elude him. He could qualify in the top three but then fade away during the race.
For Jenson, the 2009 season could well be a new era. In the past I have often questioned Jenson's will to win, but always said from his early days in F1 that he is a very fine driver with regard to driving technique. Watching him on television from a camera in the cockpit, seeing him at work with the steering wheel and listening to how he uses the power as at Catalunya last Sunday, has always been a privilege.
I recall Ross Brawn saying on television before qualifying that they had a problem with balancing the car to suit Jenson's driving style. The fact is that Jenson doesn't have a style - his technique is 100% correct. It is interesting to hear how TV pundits frequently mention now how smooth he is, when in fact it is a quality that he has always possessed. His overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton at Bahrain certainly suggested a new attitude, while his qualifying lap at Catalunya was brilliant.
One cannot criticise his performance this season so far, but I hope that there is no truth in the rumour in the press that Rubens felt that he was robbed of a certain win at the Spanish Grand Prix when his race strategy was changed in order to present Jenson with the victory on a plate, so to speak. The report went on to say that Rubens had threatened to retire immediately if it happened again.
The 2009 season is in its early stages, and so far the superior performance of the Brawn car has given Jenson a fairly easy ride. When the other teams start getting up to speed the competition will become much closer, and Brawn may be glad of a truly world-class driver in Rubens Barichello.
Red Bull will almost certainly have their latest diffuser at Monaco. Sebastian Vettel is already a complete star race driver, in qualifying, in the dry, and the wet, while Mark Webber is producing impressive performances. Jarno Trulli is also on a roll this season, especially in qualifying, while Timo Glock is showing real promise.
Lewis Hamilton will of course also be on the pace once the McLaren is competitive, therefore the positions in the Drivers' Championship could change very soon.
