Button vs Barrichello for drivers’ title

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Rubens Barrichello is closing in on Jenson Button

Mathematically, there are only four drivers who can win the world championship this year.

Realistically, it’s unlikely that either of the Brawn drivers are going to be beaten. Can Rubens Barrichello overcome his 14-point deficit to Jenson Button over the final four races?

The Red Bull drivers aren’t giving upi yet, despite Sebastian Vettel now 26 points behind Button. Mark Webber, whose first-lap exit today completed a hat-trick of no-scores, is now 28.5 behind with 40 left to be won.

Vettel is not yet ready to concede defeat. Despite scoring only one point today he told the press:

The championship isn’t over – our target is to do our best, we’re here to win races and the championship, so we have to focus on that, all the rest is out of our hands.
Sebastian Vettel

But if the maths look bad for Vettel and Red Bull, the reality of the situation is even worse. They are running low on their allowed supply of engines, and are unlikely to reach the end of the season without needing at least one new unit – and the accompanying ten-place grid drop.

The Red Bull duo are now more likely to be overtaken by Kimi Raikkonen than take on the Brawn pair. Raikkonen has scored 30 points in the last four races – the Red Bull drivers have only managed 13 between them.

Before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull were rapidly closing Brawn’s lead in the constructors’ championship. Barring an unprecedented disaster in the final rounds, that trophy looks to be on its way to Brackley.

Before the Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was talking about how he wasn’t giving up on his slim chance of retaining his title. Perhaps that was at the back of his mind today when he asked just a little too much of the kerb at the exist of Lesmo 1 on the final lap.

The most likely situation we now have is an inter-team battle for the drivers championship. We had one two years ago, between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren, which ended up Raikkonen snatching the championship from the pair of them. But don’t expect the Brawn drivers to lose the championship in the same way.

Ross Brawn told the BBC at Monza “everything will be above the table” when it comes to discussions between the drivers over the final races. Presumably that will involve strategy, which could be a problem for Barrichello.

That’s because Button’s best way of guaranteeing the championship now is to do the same as Barrichello does. It doesn’t matter if he finishes right behind Barrichello for the next four races, that will be enough for him to win the championship.

What Button needs to avoid is other drivers getting between him and his team mate. Which is why his pass on Kovalainen on lap one today was crucial – if he’d spent a couple of laps stuck behind the Finn, Button could have ended the race third or worse.

Barrichello, meanwhile, simply cannot afford another one of the botched starts that have blighted his season. He may rue the points thrown away at Istanbul and Spa (and thank his good fortune that none were lost at Melbourne).

What’s particularly compelling about this year’s championship is it isn’t being fought by drivers who are qualifying in the front two rows and disappearing off into the lead. They’re qualifying in the middle of the top ten and having to battle their way past KERS cars to the front.

It adds an extra layer of unpredictability to the title race as the championship heads to some exotic locations and unusual tracks: Singapore, Suzuka, Interlagos and the unknown Yas Island. Who will be in front at the end of it?

More on the Italian Grand Prix

2009 drivers' championship

Image (C) Brawn GP

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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114 comments on “Button vs Barrichello for drivers’ title”

  1. nine drivers in the championship!!

    Are we living in 2 separate timezones watching different championships, Keith?

    There are only 4. Brawns and RedBulls. Kimi (5th) with 40 points can at the maximum be on tie with Button, but will have 1 race win less.

    1. perhaps even Bourdais could win the WDC if all the other drivers are stripped of their points! anything can happen… ;)

    2. Indeed!

      It was 9 before the start of the Italian Grand Prix. Although that was realistically only 8, as one of those 9 was Massa, and I’d say it’s highly unlikely he’ll score any more points this season, especially enough to win the Driver’s Championship.

      With Reubens and Jenson getting a good haul of points today, only they and the Red Bull drivers can now win.

    3. Wow. Epic maths fail. You’re right, it’s only four. What the hell was I thinking? Changed it.

      1. @keith
        Wow. Epic maths fail. You’re right, it’s only four. What the hell was I thinking? Changed it.

        LOL! I really like your attitude mate!

  2. All Vettel needs is one decent result (a win) and Button to have a DNF in signapore. this will make the gap only 16 points with 3 races left. not too hard for him?

    1. I can’t see Vettel even scoring 26 points in the remainder of the season, never mind 26 more than Button. I’m afraid neither Red Bull driver has any chance of becoming champion.

      Where did it all go wrong for Red Bull? I was convinced after Germany, and even as recently Hungary, that they would easily end up as champions, but the car that dominated Silverstone and the Nurburgring can barely scrape a point at the moment. At least Vettel is still young, but I can’t ever see Webber coming this close to the title again…

      1. When they switched back to the narrow nose cone, I thought they might be doing the same mistake Brawn did post-Turkey.. perhaps that’s the reason? They simply don’t have a good set-up for their current car configuration.

    2. I wish. But he has to take an engine penalty too so it’s game over really

    3. Indeed, but I don’t think that Red Bull is going to be much use at Singapore.

      …unless it rains of course…aren’t we due?

  3. sumedh – I think he’s making the point Kimi can leapfrog the Red Bulls, not Button, based on his recent form.

  4. There are 40 points for Ruben to grab in the final races and he has a fighting chance of winning the WDC. What he needs to do is to maintain his fine form for the remaining races and hope Button have one or two DNF.

  5. I’ve downloaded Ross Brawn’s reactin after the race from F1zone.net its quiet interesting :D

    1. Why, what did he say?

  6. Given the recent past rulings by the stewards, scandals, I think we have: “Stewardistically” or “Scandalistically”, anyone can still win the title.

    1. nice comment :-)

    2. Not really I think the FIA want Brawns to win the title because of it being a ‘fairytale’. Last year they wanted mclaren to lose so they gave them lots of penalties

      1. I don’t think they care who wins to be honest – as long as it’s only decided at Abu Dhabi.

  7. You’re very good at picking photographs for the lede of the articles, Keith; very good touch.

    1. Cheers Hakka. With the unusual picture dimensions we chose for the site it can be tricky. Am looking at changing it.

      1. don’t! I like it how it is. another superb article keith. or as every f1 driver or boss would say ‘fantastic’.

        1. It was better after sumedh helped out!

          1. Yes, don’t change the extreme wide-screen photos used in the articles, it gives the site a sence of uniqueness, as well as demanding extreme creativeness with the photos, and they always come out spot on.

          2. I don’t want to reduce the total width, but I might make them taller. Am looking at a few changes at the moment, but haven’t made my mind up yet, and will post examples for feedback closer to the time.

          3. Rubens won’t want this one any taller, it makes him look younger!

            I think our photographer has the eventual champion in focus, and I doubt it’ll go to the last race this year, but this’ll be a refreshingly open, fair title battle between two good blokes.

          4. No! Keith, don’t make them any taller.
            The “wide screen” pictures look perfect, and soo cool.

  8. Some bizarre and ludicrous statements have been posted accusing someone of racism. For obvious reasons these comments have been taken down.

  9. It’s do sure one of these two and I’m happy about it, cause either one deserve it for a long time.

    I was pulling for Button, but after his ‘break-down’ in the last few races, my wish is now to see Rubbens win – he’s the original “Mr. Nice Guy” my nice and funny, with respect to and from all the drivers.

    And after what he suffered at Ferrari, being the Schumacher’s helper for some Seasons, he really deserves it. And Button will stay around for more time, so he will get another shot at it, I’m sure. Formula One is not yet ready (and I hope never) to be ruled by some Vettel or any other german… It’s still too soon after all those years only hearing and seeing Schumacher – it’s no fun – it’s tiresome… it’s BAD to Formula One and to all the fans!

    I’m not a Ross Brawn fan but I’m a fan of both his drivers :)

  10. Ruben can do it. It would be great if he could win it, always liked Ruben’s. Ruben’s really deserves it. Jenson still has plenty of time in F1 and may be he will be able to cope with the pressure better since he will know what it feels like. Pulling for Ruben’s go for it, you can do it.

  11. I think Ross Brawn does right to let his drivers race each other! As there is very little chance of the WDC not being one of his drivers and the CC pretty much in the bag he might as well let them decide between themselves who wins it!

    I do have to add a big COME ON JENSON to it though!

  12. Barrichello was my pre-season pick for WDC, and I hope Rubens does it, but realistically you have to say that Jenson has the better odds. A DNF for Button with Barrichello winning in the next race would hot things up nicely though!

  13. You know what? Hamilton earned great respect from me with his performance today – and not ‘despite’ but ‘because of’ his final lap. He didn’t hold back, he didn’t settle for “second” [which was the third place] but he fought his best ’til the end. He’s a real racing driver and he’s a fighter – I love it.

    1. That is the difference between Hamilton & Schumacher.

      1. That is the similarity between Hamilton & Senna.

        1. Yeah, I know people don’t like hearing it, but Hamilton does remind me a sometimes of Senna too.

          The way he overtakes cars on track and this race the way he crashed out. It is just like Senna crashing out of Monaco or Brazil for pushing too hard.

          1. I agree with Damon about Hamilton today. He could have stayed cool and finished in third (and probably wished he did), but by going to the limit for those two extra points showed to me that he strives for the maximum possible, and that is a quality I admire and respect, and one that Senna possessed (although he was more of a perfectionist).

      2. I thought the main difference between them is 6world titles, 81wins & 73fastest laps

        1. For now yes.

          1. Hahahahahah “For now” hgahahahahufhdsufi\l

        2. No, Dane, you got it a bit wrong.

          Hamilton 2.5 seasons into his career:
          8 wins
          1 World Championship
          1 runner-up in WDC
          9 Pole Positions

          Schumacher 2.5 seasons into his career:
          2 wins
          0 World Championships
          0 Pole Positions

          Now you can see the difference, can’t you?

          1. Schuamcher’s first two Benettons weren’t the best cars on the grid, unlike Hamilton’s first two McLarens, yet Schumi finished 3rd in his first full season (when also the grid had legends like Mansell and his flying Williams and Senna.)

            Failed comparision.

          2. I totally agree with you, Guilherme.
            I was just making a point.

            Schumi didn’t win 7 WDCs in 2.5 seasons, did he? :]

          3. calm down children, people such as alonso and kimi will be remembered as legends as well, you just can’t say best ever. Best for that time you can argue. Put senna in say juan manuel fangio’s car at that time he may have looked like piquet jr. dragging his flat feet around. Likewise other way around. I realize that’s quite a jump but you get the point. Since michael’s little neck hurts we can’t ever see. It’s all part of this great game called LIFE.

  14. An unrelated query Keith, coz I didnt know where to ask-
    Is anybody else having trouble with the live blog screen? I mean I have a good laptop and no problems on any other blogs or sites with constant updates, but I just cant use the live blog. Its impossible to scroll back(or forward)… I can barely read any of the comments much less check whether any of mine got posted or not… I know there are loads of comments every second but then everyone should have that problem. Is it so?

  15. In my opinion, neither Button or Barrichello are the best drivers in F1 right now. To be brutally honest (and I know not everyone will agree with this) I’d say whoever wins the championship may well be one of the weakest F1 champions in a long time.

    Yet I think it’s great that so many drivers have had a chance to resurect their careers this season. By 2006- 2007 I thought the likes of Webber, Trulli, Barrichello, Fisichella and even Button were finished. It’s great that they’ve all had their time in the limelight this year.

    I’d like Barrichello to win the title. It would be an amazing story- a driver in his 18th season, who was all set to be dropped after ’08, in a car that barely made it to the grid, fighting back from 30- odd points back to triumph. But then I’d feel sorry for Button…

    1. I agree that BUT and BAR are not the best drivers on the grid today (I’d choose Raikonnen and Hamilton), but I don’t think they’d be one of the weakest title winners. In fact, I see 2009 as a inspiring story about second acts and how not to give up, very happy to see Barrichello and Button recieving the accolades. Never give up.

      1. This is like, the first time I read about someone agreeing with me on who are the best drivers. But it was quickly followed by the second, when I saw Steph90’s comment. And then all of the comments below…

        Anyway, I think Barrichello would be the driver that deserves it the most: the guy has had a respectable career and winning the WDC would be a good way to top that.

  16. In my opinion, neither Button or Barrichello are the best drivers in F1 right now. To be brutally honest (and I know not everyone will agree with this) I’d say whoever wins the championship may well be one of the weakest F1 champions in a long time.

    Ned I agree and have thought so all year but it has been an odd year.

    1. I agree too. But they are better than Vettel and Webber IMHO.

    2. The issue is a lot of peoples “best drivers” are in the “best cars”, it’s impossible to compare some of the drivers who never get a big chance. Certain drivers can be picked out as under performing compared to their team mates – Badoer, Piquet and Kova all spring to mind in recent form. But when you have the comparison of other drivers in the same teams – for example this year such as Vettel to Webber and Button to Barrichello its much harder to pick who is actually “better” out of the team – which is really the only fair comparison (presuming they have both had reasonable time in F1).

      But when you look at very good drivers such as Alonso and then pitch the fact Lewis in his first season did equally well – you can question maybe Lewis is a better driver than some of the others on the field, and maybe Kova isnt so bad but just the same as some of the others… And Barrichello lost out to Schumacher for a long time, so maybe Schumacher is presumably better than and all of Barrichello’s team mates over the years who Barrichello out performed.

      I’m not sure if some cross performance could be calculated by only using form comparison in the same car is possible, but I imagine it could bring up some interesting hierarchy.

      Maybe an average position difference (removing races with car malfunctions?) eg(simple).

      B+1 on A
      C+3 on B
      D+5 on B

      Would yield:
      A,B(+1),C(+4),D(+6)

      1. ^ that would be Driver B with 3 different team mates…. the same logic could be applied to all of A,C,D team mates and consequently them placed in the list, and then all those team mates and so on, sadly some drivers would be missed, but a good range thanks to some long term drivers with many team mates and teams would throw a lot of the field into comparison.

        Could find ways of including the left over drivers Im sure.

        1. Why is everybody failing in math so badly?

          1. Where is the failing in maths?

  17. I thought the Abu Dhabi circuit was Yas Marina, not Yas Island?

    It’s great to see Rubens continuing his good form, and Jenson returning to the podium. They both needed that I think. But the real winners will be the Brawn team, who have come through a lot in the past 12 months, and haven’t had an easy few years either. From the armchair it certainly looks they have proven a well engineered car can come from anywhere (alongside Force India’s challenger) and it will be great to see them crowned Constructors Champions. I hope Barry and Button will be left to fight it out right until the final lap of the season :D

    1. Yas Marina Circuit at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi I believe.

      1. Correct. I know some people working on the big Ferrari red pants at the circuit (you’ll see what I mean come race weekend!)

        I think it’s going to be a pretty good event.

  18. Let’s go Rubens- beat the odds and bring it home!!!

  19. Not really I think the FIA want Brawns to win the title because of it being a ‘fairytale’

    I think the Red Bull story has been overlooked, yes it is great that a solution was found to the Honda problem but Red Bull were no where for quite a while but they just worked hard, with the same people and struck gold with the regulation changes. To me that is inspiring, that you can work hard and it does pay off and you don’t need Brawn’s magic wand.

  20. Before the Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was talking about how he wasn’t giving up on his slim chance of retaining his title. Perhaps that was at the back of his mind today when he asked just a little too much of the kerb at the exist of Lesmo 1 on the final lap

    Hamilton would have needed to win and Jenson to finish 5th to stay in the hunt, so I doubt it. Although I’m disappointed he didn’t get his deserved podium, he showed us again what makes him what he is. He’s a racer, and wanted 2nd more than 3rd. Sure, he had nothing to lose, but since Heikki’s been poor McLaren need his points to get 3rd in the WCC.

    As for the title, I hope Rubens gets it. Ideally Jenson should have scored only 6 here to bring the gap down closer, but let’s see.

  21. Couldn’t agree less with some of the comments about the quality of the drivers competing in this year’s championship.

    When you look at the qualifying and racing lap times of this season ( and other recent seasons too !) most of the field has been covered by less than two seconds.
    The leading ten drivers covered by as little as half a second very frequently. The quality of the driving this demands week after week, month after month; plus zero testing throughout the season, would have stretched the skills of some very famous drivers to destruction. They simply wouldn’t be able to cope with the pressure of modern F1 life.

    Today’s top F1 drivers may be grossly overpaid, but they have standards of skill and endurance that are simply staggering.

    1. I agree with above.

    2. It’s relative though. Button and Barrichello are not the BEST drivers of the current field.

      1. But they have been this year. Tbh all of the drivers in F1 are great drivers, or they wouldn’t be there, and in my opinion nearly all of them could win a championship if they had the right car.

        1. No they have not. They’ve had the best car.

      2. But this starts to get to the ‘is F1 a true sport’?kind of debate because statements like ‘Well, he/they have the best car, but they are not the best drivers’. But at the end of the day, it is a team sport, and by an by, i agree with Leon above.

        1. Well you can see the quality of drivers beyond what their car is able to do.

        2. Surely Badoer’s performance in a race- winning F60 proved that it’s not just about having the best car..??

          1. No, that’s a completely different issue.
            Just look at Fisichella. He didn’t become a slow driver overnight when he joined Ferrari.
            You could now swap Button with Raikkonen in their cars, and Button would be in the back of the field just as Fisichella was at Monza, and Raikkonen would prolly be in the back as well.

            The car has to be fitted to a driver, and the driver has to learn how to drive the car.

      3. Who are then? – and what’s your reasoning behind whoever you pick?

  22. Why is it when I answer innocently to someones outrageous comment, I get tagged with ‘Your comment is awaiting moderation’? This is the 2nd time this has happened.

    Please Keith will you tell me what I’ve said that is wrong? It was MP4-19b that was making stupid/racist comments about Ross Brawn not me.

    1. After I took that comment down it made no sense to leave the responses up. There was nothing wrong with your comment. But leaving it up would have invited a sequence of other comments asking what that comment was about.

      1. You should remove my response too, It makes no sense floating there alone with the ‘moderation tag’. It makes it look like I’m awaiting moderation.

        1. If it says ‘your comment is awaiting moderation’ next to it, nobody can see it but you or me.

        2. Oh, thanks for the info. I didn’t know that.

  23. Singapore, Suzuki, Interlagos and the unknown Yas Island

    Dude, Keith, come on man, sort it out!.

    1. Have done, thanks.

  24. Not really I think the FIA want Brawns to win the title because of it being a ‘fairytale’

    I think the Red Bull story has been overlooked, yes it is great that a solution was found to the Honda problem but Red Bull were no where for quite a while but they just worked hard, with the same people and struck gold with the regulation changes. To me that is inspiring, that you can work hard and it does pay off and you don’t need Brawn’s magic wand.

    Sorry I messed up quotes before

  25. I like the two Brawn drivers will fight for the title. And I will support Rubens, because he’s faster than Jenson.
    I do agree probably the winner this year will not have any other chance to repeat. But this doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the title. Storically there are many titles that the “big” ones left to the “one chance” catchers: not for that reason you can say that James Hunt, Jody, Alan Jones, Rosberg or Raikkonen didn’t deserve it. As Jenson or Rubens will this year.
    Hamilton did a fantastic race, and I prefer one that fights to the chequered flag rather than being satisfied of a third place. That said a mistake is a mistake, and Lewis lost an opportunity to help McLaren in third place duel.

    MP14…Schumi was a great champion, you can discuss as long as you want, but he was a great champion. :-D

  26. I think Red Bull is struggling recently mostly because of their Renault engine.
    I hope they go back to Ferrari or Merc or even see if they could get a true Nissan engine.

    1. Why would you want Nissan in F1 just out of interest?

      1. I’ve been driving Nissans my whole life, and each one has never let me down. They are good cars.

        1. isn’t nissan a renault

  27. I would like to see jenson button win the title, and i think he’s back after his “break down”. I doubt rubens can make it, because button is an faboulos driver, but the pressure might have been too much.
    Hamilton showed us why he’s in f1. 3rd wasn’t enough for him, and he drove to the last. His passion and motivation in f1 is very good for the sport. ALL respect to him. I wish he could have had the car he got now, in the start of the season, because he is the true champion!!

  28. I have a problem with Rubens winning the drivers title. I wonder if anyone else feels the same way as me – I think he’s a great driver, and definitely one of the nicest people on the grid. He deserves to win a championship.

    HOWEVER

    If he does win, then it affirms to me that we have a second rate grid – or at least, second rate drivers winning the championship. I can’t shake the fact that Rubens was beaten by Schumi so many times. I find this frustrating. It is only for this reason that i’d rather someone else won. I’d be interested to know if anyone feels the same way

    1. Well… Schumi beat everybody.

    2. Schumi beat Button and Webber too… so who would you suggest?

      1. Raikkonen also… I think, of the top drivers, only Vettel has never faced him.

        1. and Hamilton… but he’s not fighting for the championship now

          1. errr… ALONSO HAS BEATEN SCHUMACHER TWICE!?

    3. i must say, i don’t think there really are any second rate drivers as such. anyone in the hunt for the title deserves to be. obviously some drivers are better than others but i would be interested to know the inner workings of ferrari back in the day to see how much the team favoured schmacher. webber and button have never had a car anywhere near good enough to really challenge for wins, let alone championships so it’s hard to compare their ability to someone like schumacher. all i know is webber certainly outperformed a really bad car more than once and that’s why he’s still in F1 despite his lack of true success. maybe we’d have a clearer idea of his ability if he had fisichella’s seat at renault in 05. oh well.

      1. Button in 2005 placed 3rd in the final year standings (closest to a chance he got), but above him were both Ferraris!

        Now interestingly we have a “same driver” here for Ferrari in 05 and Brawn in 09…. using how Barrichello compared against Button/Schumacher when he was in the same car as each…

        2005:
        Barrichello (114) had 77% of the points Schumacher (148) had.

        2009:
        Barrichello (66) has 82.5% of the points Button (80) has.

        Looking at this (admittedly simple) comparison Button fares up pretty close to Schumacher in points advantage over Schumacher.

        Now being slightly crude in making a claim as people are about Brawn (really just to show how things can be very misleading) you could say that Schumacher’s win in 05 was down purely to his car. People also seem to forget Schumacher won his titles when his car never mechanically failed – which makes a huge difference, just look at RedBull this year.

        Many people seem to forget that since Button and Barrichello have been team mates Jenson on paper has outperformed Barrichello most of the time – this is not a first.

        Barrichello always stayed reasonably close to Schumacher, any points difference Button has on Barrichello just reinforces that he’s a great driver and could have been in contention with Schumacher.

        Does no-one else realise that Button is one of the best out in the field, just Honda have struggled for a few years now forcing him down the grid?

        No-one seems to suggest that Also was rubbish when he was in his Minardi. (of course that would be nonsense.)

        1. **Before someone points out my error 2005 above should be 2004

  29. I’m sure I’m not the first to express the following two ideas, but this season certainly goes to prove that 1) here are at least two tiers of drivers ability-wise, and 2) within those two tiers, up to 90 percent of a driver’s success can be attributed to the car. It’s too bad that the cars are so specialized that they’re not equally suited to all the tracks.

    The Jense vs Ruebens story this season seems to be that Jense got the `handle’ at the beginning of the season while it took Ruebens a while to get the `handle’. Now that they both have the `handle’, the results indicate to me that Ruebens is the better of the two. Therefore, I hope Ruebens takes the championship.

    1. The first paragraph I agree completely, but the second one really has to be the most ridiculous excuse making ever.

      Over the whole season Barrichello only outperformed Button in 4 out of 13 races. Only 4!

      Even though Bar had 2 good races recently and Button didn’t do well, Barrichello is still 14 points behind. That’s lightyears in the current F1 point scoring system.

  30. Paige Michael-Shetley
    13th September 2009, 23:23

    I think it’s easy for a lot of us to say that Hamilton should learn to be content with 3rd sometimes, but he doesn’t have a championship to drive for: only race wins. His performance in pushing as hard as he possibly could every lap to overcome a ridiculous strategy was brilliant, and while that last mistake ultimately looks foolish, we should realize that he could really not give a crap about points. If he was racing for a championship, he probably would have backed off, but he wasn’t. All the greats have done what he did in today’s situation; the motivation for it is what makes them all great.

    That said, I get the sense that Hamilton maybe won’t have to push so hard for the rest of the year to go for wins. Reportedly, McLaren has a pretty major upgrade coming for Singapore, which is very much a McLaren-suiting circuit as it is. If this upgrade really does the business for McLaren and puts them over the top, and that could seal the deal for Brawn and possibly help Button greatly.

  31. well done bar and but……Lewis didn’t have to do that as it was clear that he could not take place in the few corners left….Well done Kimi….Nice Gift for the Italians…..U deserve that seat…ICEMAN….

  32. “Aerodynamics is for people that can’t build a good engine.” – Enzo Ferrari.

    I love this quote because it’s true. I really do believe that F1 needs to emphasise Engines over Areo packages. I know people don’t like the idea of standardization, but we need a grid where each of the cars are built the same aero wise, but every team has a different engine.

    I know it will never happen, but I would just love to see Ferrari engines against Lambos and Audis, and Mercs and BMW’s and Nissans and Jags.

    F1 needs to be about the driver and the engine. A driver should be told to push his engine as hard as he wants and not worry about how many he has left for the year. That way companies will be forced to build better more efficient engines and then we as a ‘lesser’ people will see the benefits in our cars. F1 teams NEED to put more emphasis on their engines and less on the Aero. Just let the FIA hire some company like Bombardier, or NASA or that guy Zoran, then give all of the teams the blue prints. That way they still have to pay their employees to build the car, but can cut the cost of hiring their own desingers and use that money for Engine research.

    This has nothing to do with Jensen and Reubens but I don’t care. lol

  33. Prisoner Monkeys
    14th September 2009, 1:43

    I think it’s advantage Button. Barrichello needs to score three points more the JB in all of the remaining rounds this season, and there is no way to guarantee that. If Barrichello gets one dud result at the same time as Button gets a good one, Button simply has to coast to the drivers’ title.

  34. It’s going to be a fairy tale win for Rubens if he became the WDC in Sao Paulo!!

    1. until i read this comment, i was hoping button to win, but rubens in brazil would just be insanely awesome. unlikely though. he’d have to win all three of the next races with button scoring nothing essentially wouldn’t he?

  35. Robert Silvestre
    14th September 2009, 2:24

    These caught my attention:

    “Hamilton would have needed to win and Jenson to finish 5th to stay in the hunt, so I doubt it. Although I’m disappointed he didn’t get his deserved podium, he showed us again what makes him what he is. He’s a racer, and wanted 2nd more than 3rd.”

    “Hamilton showed us why he’s in f1. 3rd wasn’t enough for him, and he drove to the last. His passion and motivation in f1 is very good for the sport. ALL respect to him. I wish he could have had the car he got now, in the start of the season, because he is the true champion!!”

    I’m a big fan of Hamilton but he made a mistake, and a costly one at that, as the podium / 6 points may be proven crucial in the Mclaren vs. Ferrari battle for 3rd in the WCC comes season end.

    Massa made a similar mistake in last year’s Malaysian GP, pushing for the win, not 2nd place, and at the time we were questioning his driving ability and whether he belonged in a Ferrari…

    Anyway, hope Rubens and Jenson have a clean and fair fight until the end and may the best win. Not expecting much of a season end thriller though… as it is an interteam battle I believe the WDC will be decided on car set-up / race strategy rather than wheel2wheel racing. But let’s see… hope I’m wrong :)

    1. Yet people are always saying there’s no racing and no-one tries to overtake anymore but are happy to settle for points, and them slam someone for pushing too hard “unnecessarily” (and if it had worked out, Hamilton just might have had a look at that 2nd place – Jenson’s the one who’s got to be careful, and full credit for him for not listening to his engineer and saving his car rather than being spooked by Hamilton). Can’t have it both ways.

      Though it was early in the year, Massa’s mistake was a WDC-impacting event. Hamilton’s spin wasn’t. That doesn’t make it any less of a driving error, but to draw a parallel to Massa’s spin is a false analogy.

  36. Any one besides me think that STR just has a lousy car?

  37. Lewis lover might say that the guy always tries to give his best and in trying to go one better he CRASHED. I must admit talent of Lewis Hamilton but there are certain sever issues like below.

    1. In 2007 he could have won WDC in china but cracked under pressure; going in to pits.

    2. Again in 2007 Brazil, he only need to score couple of points to win WDC, He again cracked, messed up with his steering buttons or something.

    3. In 2008 Brazil, even before Glock incident, he cracked under pressure and lost one place at closing stages to Vettel.

    To be honest there is a strong tendency of him making mistakes at critical juncture of WDC.

    On the other side, one of his best achievements was to beat 2 times world champion on his rookie season.

    I reckon he is an excellent driver with exceptional abilities but prone to making mistakes at critical times.

    1. 1: The team told his to stay out on those tyres and delayed bringing him in, which is why he went straight off. I admit he should have demanded to come in earlier, but it wasn’t 100% his fault as you make out

      2: The whole “pushed the wrong button” theory has never been proved. Given that he was pushing every other button to correct it, and it didn’t kick in for 30 seconds, it was probably an electronic glitch.

      3: McLaren were running the lowest downforce of the whole field that day. It was raining, and Kubica’s unlapping distracted Hamilton enough to let Vettel by. And let’s remember he was only out of position in the first places because Glock hadn’t pitted.

      I agree he’s prone to making mistakes, but since Fuji 2008 you can’t say he’s made a single one that’s really mattered (well, lying to the stewards and his spin yesterday have cost him 10 points, but he’d still be out of it now anyway). McLaren are 15 points behind a Ferrari that aren’t developing their car anymore, with 4 races to go. Might cost them third in the WCC, but it’s not the end of the world.

  38. I think Barrichello is a fantastic driver.
    Consider just lap times and you will see that he is the only Schumi mate that has not been destroyed by him.
    Piquet, Herbert, Verstappen, Irvine have been all ridiculous, in front of Shumacher. Rubens, instead, has managed many times to be faster than him.
    Rubens is fast.

    1. well said, is he fast enough to come back from 14 down… stay tuned.

  39. Some stats presuming Button or Barrichello and Brawn win the title.

    Button: It will have been 21 years since consecutive years have yielded two different drivers of the same nationality. And 40 years since this has happened by British Drivers.

    Barrichello: will be the 8th Oldest Champion.

  40. This is tough. I was secretly hoping one of these two would build some unassailable lead that decide which I would follow.

    I’m still a little more pro Jenson, but I think the wife is more pro Reubens. Both deserve the title, I’ll never agree that a driver does not deserve a WDC.

    It has clearly shown that a poor qualifying can kill your chance at good points. Being outside the top 10 for either of these 2 on the grid could cripple their chances if the other driver makes the top 10 shootout.

    This title will be decided on the 4 remaining Saturdays.

  41. I hope Barrichello wins. He had to help Schumacher for so many years and has had lots of bad luck this year, whereas Button’s only problem is cracking under pressure.

    About Lewis Hamilton, I don’t get it why so many people think his performance in Monza proves he belongs to F1. Sure, it might have been a good show (even though there was no real chance for him to overtake Button), but please tell me, how does completely destroying one’s car prove that one belongs to F1? IMO it was a stupid move. He had nothing to lose, but McLaren needs those points and I bet his team would have loved to see him on podium. (Yes, I know the majority of people here are Brits but still…)

  42. This poor Rubens having to drive in the shadow of Schumacher so he deserves the title more than anyone simply doesn’t cut. He spent many years in one of the best cars in F1. Enough said. He had a huge opportunity, accrued many WDC points, lots of money, got podiums and wins. Button has had to eek out his existence in one crap car after another most of the time and has never ever had the clear cut opportunities to win a race let alone a title that Rubens had simply because he didn’t have the car.

    Jenson DESERVES this title just as much as Rubens. Both are in a car they deserve to be and in a points situation they deserve regardless. Kimi and Lewis and even goddam Alonso chose the teams they’re with. Alonso could have been in that Brawn. But he isn’t.

    Whoever wins it, IS a champion, you cannot take that away from them. Let’s not also forgot that Jenson has won 6 to Rubens 2 and only received half points for one of those races. The most Rubens can do is equal that win tally, he cannot better it with 4 races to go. And as someone said earlier, Rubens has only beaten Jenson 4 times in 13 races so far.

  43. You cannot deny the fact that Button has not had any mechanical defects this season so far. Am I right or wrong? Barri has had anti-stall issues, pit issues, and a spring falls off and injures Massa. Then the team adjusts his strategy at Spain. He should’ve won that one. What am I saying? I don’t know but with all of that Button should be further along in points. You can read into it what you want. I do think Brawn has underestimated Barri and that is unfortunate. They want Button back for next year but are on the fence regarding Barri. Why?

  44. I think Rubens will pip him to the title and brazil is coming up and having his home crowd back him up. he will win that race KERS track or not only Massa can match Rubens on that track and massa wont be there. it will go down to Abu Dhabi i reckon with Rubens being 4-5 points out and he beats him.

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