In the round-up: Jenson Button says it “would be very interesting” to be Fernando Alonso’s team mate.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
Jenson Button talks Hamilton, Perez and F1 controversy (ITN via Dailymotion)
“There are many guys you’d want to challenge of being their team mate. I think with Fernando we all know how difficult he is as a team mate. He’s very fast, he’s very intelligent and for a lot of people that scares them.
“For me I’d really like to be Fernando’s team mate – but I’m not saying I want to go to Ferrari – I’m just saying that alongside Fernando would be very interesting, to see how the guy works. I think I’d give him a very good run for his money.”
HRT fails to find buyer before deadline (Autosport)
“Sources indicate that the team is now working to pay its creditors and that the plan is for the team to shut down without unpaid debts.”
Co-Founder Is Bullish on Grand Prix in Texas (The New York Times)
Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein: “At a NASCAR race, you are elevated and you see so much of the racing. Clearly, the American fan is used to being able to see a race. Here, from the seats you will see five to ten turns out of our twenty turns. This has been one of the most intentional parts of the design process, so that the die-hard race fan comes and says, ‘This is the greatest experience in the world.'”
US director Ron Howard takes on world of Formula One (Asia Ona)
“Asked whether the American public is ready for a F1-based film, Howard replied: ‘I know I’ve had a lot of very commercial movies, but I’m not a marketing guy, I don’t think that way. I didn’t think Apollo 13 would be very commercial and it made the top 10 that year. I do my best to try and make it an experience for the audience so that the majority of people who go will come away feeling that they got something out of the movie.'”
Vettel/Vergne Incident (Speed)
Adam Cooper: “[Ferrari’s] first contact with the media could have been to say that while it had noted with interest the stories on the internet the team accepted that there was no issue, wished Sebastian Vettel well, and looked forward to 2013. Instead a similar message emerged rather too late, after the damage had been done – and without any form of apology to Red Bull and Vettel.”
Hearts and minds (Darren Heath Photographer)
“Ever so slightly caught up in the moment I took a step towards Fernando and we embraced. ‘Hard luck mate, hard luck.’ ‘Thank you,’ came the reply and the party of four headed up the rusting spiral staircase to the podium above.”
Webber chopper’s tern for the worse (The Sydney Morning Herald)
“Formula One driver Mark Webber’s adventure marathon has blown up a wildlife storm in Tasmania, where an event helicopter rotor blasted a nesting colony of threatened fairy terns.”
Tweets
HRT fails to enter for 2013, we are down to 22 cars. With 2014 engine costs looking scary can see 'customer' F1 cars back on the agenda
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) December 1, 2012
Oh dear: @SkySportsF1 using a fake Twitter account for Sebastian Vettel on their website http://t.co/zwiOUSVJ #facepalm
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) December 1, 2012
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
@James_mc is saddened by the departure of HRT:
Very sad news.
From when I started watching F1, I have always had a certain respect for the teams near the back of the grid who are not winning, or even scoring points.
Kudos to a group of guys who really only wanted to go racing. Like Minardi before them, I will mourn their passing. Perhaps because they didn’t have an obvious "figurehead" at the helm and were owned by a bank, HRT never achieved the same cult status as Minardi did.
I’d bracket Sauber and formerly Jordan in a similar location – independents who want to go racing.
For me Force India are just one man’s vanity project, and don’t anyone dare try and tell me that Toro Rosso are the same as Minardi. Yes, they use the same factory and base but they bear as much relation to Minardi as "Lotus/Genii" does to Teddy Toleman’s outfit of the 1980?���??s.
Not a Minardi in my heart, but I for one shall mourn their passing and all-to-brief foray into F1.
@James_mc
From the forum
- An excellent 2012 season highlights video by Miran (@Latos)
- Your designs for a Formula E’s Rome circuit
- Steve (@Burgo) is looking for tips on going to the Spanish Grand Prix
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to KateDerby and US Williams Fan!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Yesterday we were talking about HRT not gaining an entry to Formula One for 2013, and ten years ago the story was much the same regarding Arrows. The team had failed the participate in a race since that year’s German Grand Prix, and the FIA unsurprisingly rejected its entry for 2003. The team later went bankrupt.
Image © Pirelli/LAT
Neusalz (@dpod)
2nd December 2012, 0:08
“I think I’d give him a very good run for his money.”
Maybe on that rare occasion when you find the balance you are happy with.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 0:16
I think Button is in that group like Vettel and Massa. He can pretty much take on any teammate as long as the car really suits him, but unlike Alonso and Hamilton, has perhaps too narrow window in which he operates in his peak. We’ve seen Massa being able to outpace both Kimi and Alonso on certain occasions when the car really suits him and you don’t get teammates any harder then those two.
Button also managed to get finish in front of Hamilton on few occasions on pure pace too.
Vettel perhaps also falls into that category, since he seems to be more sensitive to certain aspects of the car compared to Webber. You know that Webber has no chance when car is working the way Vettel wants it, but again he seems to be able to beat him on pure pace when the car is not completely there.
Neusalz (@dpod)
2nd December 2012, 0:37
I think you summed it up very well @brace . Jenson is a driver I like because of his relatively “calm” racing style, but his ability to adapt to different styles is a little bit of a concern. With Hamilton leaving for Mercedes, maybe we will get a chance to see Button at his finest with a car to his liking. Given a Ferrari though, I don’t think he’d be able to displace Alonso.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
2nd December 2012, 0:39
@brace
You do realize that Massa has outperformed Alonso in as many races as Webber outperformed Vettel right? The ‘myth’ about Webber besting Vettel when the car wasn’t up there is based only on reliabilty; that’s why Webber was ahead. Performance-wise, Vettel out-performed Webber in 17 out of 20 races.
Neusalz (@dpod)
2nd December 2012, 0:46
@mnmracer
I believe that this “myth” has more to do with Webbers quali performance than anything else.
josephrobert (@josephrobert)
2nd December 2012, 12:53
and his bad starts
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
2nd December 2012, 0:51
But the points are not earned on Saturday, now are they?
If you consider that prior to 2012, Vettel had Webber beaten in qualifying 43:12 in pretty much every scenario (with/without refueling, with/without DRS, with/without double diffuser, etc., etc.) and now he is still faster in the races, the more likely explanation would be that he sacrificed a bit of quali set-up for the races.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 1:31
As far as I remember in 2009 Webber came with a half-broken leg. In fact he is only now removing the remaining metal pieces from his leg. In 2010 they were pretty equal as far as I remember. Webber certainly had an edge more often then Massa. In 2011 you gotta admit Vettel had a car he really likes and he certainly did beat Webber comfortably, which is exactly the point of my post above. But in 2012 Webber again had an edge in more then few races. In fact, they were more or less equal on points until the second part of the season.
As for Massa, in 2012 he only out-qualified Alonso on 2 occasions and probably had a better race pace in those two also. 2010 and 2011 he was same as this year. Few better performances, but slower on most occasions.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 1:32
sorry, this was meant as a reply to your other reply directly to my post :)
David-A (@david-a)
2nd December 2012, 2:32
@brace @mnracer – In 2010 Webber was almost equal with Vettel on points when Vettel lost far more points to mechanical failures (like Hamilton this year). The standings should have shown Vettel well clear ahead of his teammate anyways.
In 2012, the only races out of 20 where Webber beat Vettel were China, Monaco, Britain and Brazil, excluding car failures and incidents caused by others.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
2nd December 2012, 10:24
@brace – Mark Webber and Felipe Massa in comparison to their teammates haven’t been so far apart as you suggest. Webber early season only bet Vettel on track in Monaco, China & Britain. Likewise, Massa was faster than Alonso late season in Austin & Brazil in qualifying and Korea & Austin in the races – so really Mark Webber hasn’t come so close to Vettel as you are alluding to. Sure, he has definety stepped up relative to his 2011 performance but it is just that; relative.
I’m sure if Massa hadn’t been reigned in by having to commit himself to Alonso’s title challenge we may have seen him scoring yet more podiums and beating Alonso in the races (of course in Suzuka without the need to surrender position to Alonso he scored a brilliant 2nd place) so that could say several things: Alonso isn’t as great as his acclaim suggests; Massa is being severly hindered by his position at Ferrari and has much more to show; Ferrari took a decisive step towards Massa in their late-season efforts at development unwittingly to the detriment of Alonso.
notme
3rd December 2012, 17:27
actually points are earned on Saturday, if you don’t qualify ftont row you don’t win
Q85
2nd December 2012, 10:03
By mid season webber was ahead of vettel. Yes vettel broke down at Valencia. cant see what else off the top of my head he had that was bad luck. I might be missing something.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
2nd December 2012, 11:53
His breakdown from the lead (which cost him 25 points) and his collision with Karthikeyan (which cost him 12/15 points). Vettel was quicker than Webber throughout the season.
davidnotcoulthard
2nd December 2012, 5:05
@brace
You did take into consideration the (small) possibility that it’s also possible that the car was made to suit Alonso and (possibly?) Hamilton and that’s why they were ahead of their team mates?
As I said, though, the possibility is…….small.
codesurge (@codesurge)
2nd December 2012, 5:26
How about Vettel’s time at Toro Rosso? After spending the first few races getting acclimatized, he was able to get solid point hauls in races (and even a win) whereas his more experience teammate Bourdais was languishing further down the order. Given that the STR3 wasn’t built around his preferences as a rookie driver, surely that shows some merit there?
AndrewT (@andrewt)
2nd December 2012, 8:41
Good point, but please consider, that Bourdais experience came from other series, and by the time they teamed up with Vettel, the German had more F1 races in his bag (8-0), which of course should not be decisive at a level of a driver Bourdais is. And please consider, that Bourdais was only a few corners away from his (and the teams) first podium finish in Spa, and could not start from his well earned 4th place in Monza. This simply could have changed the history of F1, and put both of them in different situation.
But in Vettels first year, it’s needless to say, that he performed great as a rookie, grabbing a point on his debut with BMW, and was able to match the pace of his really more experienced teammate Liuzzi, and replacing Speed was maybe the right decision by Toro Rosso. However, we need to see the trend, that Toro Rosso used to be become much more competitive in the last third of the seasons thanks to some more attention from Red Bull, and of course this is a factor why Speed could not score in the early and mid-season, and why Vettel could in the late.
although i could name at least 2 drivers that deserved this years title more than Vettel, i obviously can’t say that the German did not deserve it, moreover, maybe this was the title of his three he worked the hardest for. driving fast around an empty circuit in a well balanced car, maybe this is what noone else can do as efficient as Vettel can, and this means a lots of pole positions and start-to-finish race wins, this is what he is really good at. the problems come when he gets in traffic. many of you argued against it, but the facts proves this. he has always been error prone either in defensive or in offensive roles of an overtake, and although he claims that he is “more than capable of overtaking”, i simply can’t agree. the only overtake he performed this year, and i can accept, was against Button in Abu Dhabi, which also gave him 3 additional points that was absolutley neccessary at the end. the other cars he did overtake during the season was either his teammates, or simply much-much slower, getting past them was simply a “must”, Buttons McLaren was the only one in his class, and he clearly can be proud of that.
i still believe that muscling through Schumacher in Brazil was a very dangerous move, and the Schu just wanted to avoid a DNF for either or both of them.
absolutley agree that Alonso, Hamilton, Button and Räikkönen are those drivers that Vettel would love to match in intelligency and skills, and teaming up with any of them it’s more than not guaranteed that he could come out as winner.
it might be odd seeing that someone is talking like this about a 3-times WDC, but this is exactly what i see and what i think.
David-A (@david-a)
2nd December 2012, 13:56
@andrewt
In the Australian, Belgian and Spanish GP he overtook numerous similarly fast cars.
matt90 (@matt90)
2nd December 2012, 15:32
Who did he overtake in Australia?
David-A (@david-a)
2nd December 2012, 15:54
@matt90 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ygwBmia90
Oh, and @andrewt , Speed failed to score a single point in almost 2 seasons, when Liuzzi and Vettel did, in similar and less time respectively. There are no excuses to cover the American.
uan (@uan)
2nd December 2012, 17:03
Vettel made some nice passes in Belgium into the Bus Stop chicane as well.
David-A (@david-a)
2nd December 2012, 17:28
Exactly @uan
And regarding Bourdais in the above post, he only got into 3rd because of Kimi losing control in the wet. Vettel and Kubica, on the same tyres as Bourdais, passed him in the same conditions (in addition to Heidfeld and Alonso, who were on wet tyres).
Ace of base
3rd December 2012, 15:02
Massa was faster than Alonso towards the end of the season so I would think the new ferrari development suited Massa better than Alonso. I am afraid matey, you are not making any sense.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 0:19
@dpod – Button gave Hamilton a run for his money (and in three years as team-mates, he scored more points) when he was not expected to when he first joined McLaren …
Neusalz (@dpod)
2nd December 2012, 0:43
Yes that is true, but it is really hard to evaluate these two because of the setbacks each one of them faced. Statistically Button came out the victor, but I feel like the 15pts (i think) are overshadowed by Hamiltons strong performances this year. At least that is the case with me.
Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
2nd December 2012, 1:59
I agree
Considering Hamilton had 6 DNFs this year which he was not at fault. Three while he was leading the race (Sing, Abu, and Brazil thus lost 75 points), one while he was running third (Valencia losing 15 points) and two where he had no chance at Spa and Germany and likely would have been on the podium.
Then there are the countless mistakes Mclaren made costing more points.
This year Button had retired twice once while running second and the second in a first lap crash. So he lost 18 points in Italy plus what ever he may have achived in Korea. He infact benefited in all but one of Hamiltons retirements.
Hamiltons performace this year unfortunatly will never be reflected properly by the end results and statisitcs. If people recall Hamilton lapped Button in Canada and HAM started at the back and subsequently BUT to finish 8th in Spain.
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 2:38
Which is all tosh because in the end, the only thing that actually counts is the tally.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 3:14
Sounds to me like a whole lot of excuses. I suppose you’ll claim that Hamilton isn’t to blame for his problems in 2011 because Felipe Massa should have seen him coming.
The fact is that however it came to pass, Jenson Button beat Lewis Hamilton. You claim that Hamilton had reitrements that weren’t really his fault, and so the final results were not representative of the reality. Fine – Button had them, too. He retired from the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix after one of his mechanics accidentally left a bung in his air intake on the grid, causing the engine to overheat. And then there was his retirement from the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix, when Sebastian Vettel crashed into him at the Bus Stop. Or his reitrement from the 2011 British Grand Prix, when one of his wheels came loose after a pit stop.
You’ve made all of these excuses for Hamilton’s poorer performances, as if they prove that history would somehow be different if those results would be different. But you have overlooked – intentionally, I suspect – all of Button’s problems.
Even if all of Button’s retirements were absolutely his fault and none other, and even if Hamilton was only ever a victim of avoidable circumstance, you’re still forgetting one key point: that when Jenson Button joined McLaren in 2010, everyone expected him to be demolished by Lewis Hamilton – but when Hamilton left McLaren at the end of the 2012 season, Button had fared considerably better than anyone had ever anticipated.
xbx-117 (@xbx-117)
2nd December 2012, 4:23
It looks to me like Hamilton beat Button 2 out of the 3 years they raced as teammates. Pretty sure that means Hamilton did better. If you want to start nitpicking and count total points over three years (an irrelevant number which I’m not sure why has become the definitive “proof” by some that Button performed better) than we can also bring out total wins, poles, and fastest laps over those three years; all of which Hamilton has beaten Button in.
I don’t want to diminish Button’s accomplishments as I feel getting that close to Hamilton regardless of either of their misfortune’s is impressive, but in my eyes Hamilton definitely out performed Button during their time at McLaren (even though 2011 was without a doubt Hamilton’s worst year while Button drove excellently).
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
2nd December 2012, 5:22
@Mike lol – I’m sure Button is laughing his bottom off thinking that Hamilton could have scored 300+ points compared to Button’s 188… He’s thinking to himself “How on earth did I dodge that bullet? With my luck, oops I meant skill, I’m sure I can take Alonso on…”
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 13:07
@freelittlebirds
I don’t care which driver is considered better. It’s a pointless debate.
N
2nd December 2012, 13:51
“Fine – Button had them, too. He retired from the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix after one of his mechanics accidentally left a bung in his air intake on the grid, causing the engine to overheat. And then there was his retirement from the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix, when Sebastian Vettel crashed into him at the Bus Stop.”
Erm, retiring from 8th on the grid at the start of the race, is not the same as retiring from 2nd with 2 laps to go (hamilton, spain, 2010)
Its intellectual dishonesty to hold the position that Button beat hamilton.
Nick.UK (@)
2nd December 2012, 16:52
@prisoner-monkeys
An interesting choice of comparable situations for Button’s forced retirements… in almost all of those cases, Hamilton was infront of him at the time…
Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
3rd December 2012, 1:27
“Which is all tosh because in the end, the only thing that actually counts is the tally.”
Which is precisely my point. The actual count does not truly represent Hamilton’s performance over the three years. Yes he made silly mistakes in 2011. But 2012 he dominated Button in nearly every aspect of the season but he is about 100 points short of where he should have finished had the team built a more reliable car and other drivers had taken a little more care.
This whole year Button only showed one completely dominating performance at Spa. But otherwise was probably competitive in as many races as he was complete rubbish. Barcelona and Montreal are probably the two most embarrassing.
Hamilton surely has to win the prize for the most unlucky driver of 2012
MagillaGorilla (@magillagorilla)
3rd December 2012, 7:57
I have to agree with @xbx-117, you tell us we are making excuses @prisoner monkeys yet if it is a driver to your liking you make these excuses as well. So what is with this double standard? The truth is that Hamilton beat Button 2 out of the three years. If anyone wanted to really make an excuse they would have said “well 2011 doesn’t count because Lewis seemed to not really care”, yet I dont see anyone doing such things.
Either way at the end of the day, Hamilton was still a more complete driver than Button, at a team that supposedly had a team boss with a better liking to Button.
JC (@jc)
3rd December 2012, 21:34
“Which is all tosh because in the end, the only thing that actually counts is the tally.”
I think the tosh lies within that statement itself. By that logic Prost beat Senna in their 2 years at McLaren simply by outscoring him 163 vs 150 points, yet had less wins (11 vs 14) and significantly less poles (4 vs 26). It’s not black and white.
cg22me (@cg22me)
2nd December 2012, 1:07
I think Button was just having a bit of fun.
Whether or not he truly believes he can best Alonso wasn’t the point of him making the statement, IMO…
He’s just one to provoke a little controversial conversation! Typical Button, I think :P
N7 (@m77)
2nd December 2012, 11:06
He never said beat alonso – he said “give a run for his money”
Over 3 seasons at mclaren, even if you consider Hamilton’s speed advantage or somewhat pointlessly add all these lost points to Hamilton’s tally, Button definitely gave Hamilton a good run for his money (which no one predicted 3 years ago).
So why couldn’t he with Alonso? Also, as Gratton pointed out, he’s not exactly the most serious driver out there, take this comment lightheartedly!
Jason (@jason12)
2nd December 2012, 11:49
For a WDC, I’m suprised by Jenson’s runner-up / loser mentality.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
2nd December 2012, 0:15
I think Jenson Button and Mark Webber, and to an extend even Felipe Massa are pretty similar:
Give them a car to their liking, and a track to their liking, they will take on the best.
I think in the 2011 McLaren, he might well give Alonso a run for his money. Trulli was able to, Felipe was at the end of this year.
Would he have been able to this year though? Not so much.
nackavich (@nackavich)
2nd December 2012, 0:28
@mnmracer I guess that’s the smallest difference though – the fact that conditions really do need to fall in their favour, whereas a driver like Alonso wrangles the car into the points or a podium when it is not suited to the track or the conditions. I guess that’s why most of the drivers consider him probably the most talented on the grid. Sure Button, Massa and Webber are exceptional drivers, but it’s the consistency of Alonso in his driving that edges him ahead I feel.
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 2:40
So if Alonso is ahead, it’s talent, skill and grit. If Massa is ahead it’s because the car is suited to him right?
nackavich (@nackavich)
2nd December 2012, 3:16
@mike No not exactly, but I feel that there are more specific conditions that need to be in play to help the likes of Massa and co to get to the front. It’s just my personal opinion that Alonso is more consistent in his performances even if the car isn’t at it’s best, or inclement weather etc etc. I’m not saying Massa and Button and Webber aren’t great drivers (I’m a Webber fan) but I watch Alonso and how he’s always just consistently “there” more than others.
Fullhouse
2nd December 2012, 9:05
its more on the car was built around Fernando while massa struggling with it initially.
Sharing resources will nvr happen with fernando,
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 13:08
I tend to agree @nackavich, One thing that can be said about Alonso is that he’ll always make the best of a bad situation.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 7:39
Well, you don’t lose talent, skill and grit randomly. You do lose certain aspects of the car as development goes on.
So it’s only natural that if someone keeps getting results, no matter what, it has to be that they have enough “talent, skill and grit” to do it. If someone’s form fluctuates, it means there are more outside factors that can influence their performance.
It’s as simple as that.
Mind you, as I said in one reply above, even Alonso and Hamilton can’t extract as much out of the car that doesn’t suit them as they can from the car that does suit them, but their oscillations are much smaller then with other drivers. Massa can beat both Alonso and Kimi when he’s in the zone, but he seems to be more dependent on the car behavior.
Aditya Banerjee (@chicanef1)
2nd December 2012, 7:55
@mike According to none other than Gary Anderson, Alonso’s talent came out in the first part of the season. He handled a poor-handling car ably, and left his teammate in the dry. In mid-season, Massa was beginning to look relatively better off as Ferrari sorted out their driveability gremlins, but he was still some way off Alonso. Towards the end he was looking faster, because the car was reacting better to Massa’s over-aggressive style rather than Alonso’s careful style that had helped the Spaniard early on as his competitors were struggling to adapt to 2012-spec Pirelli tyres. This was largely due to the upgrades Ferrari brought in after Abu Dhabi which were drag-tested at Idi-ada.
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 13:13
@chicanef1
That was most interesting :D
davidnotcoulthard
2nd December 2012, 5:09
Another possibility: Their teamates are as “sensitive” to the setup as they are, but more often than not the car suits their teammates. We just never know…..
Q85
2nd December 2012, 10:06
So jenson, you had a better can than him this year and you were miles behind so how do you plan to get near him with the same car.
and you had a chance to go to ferrari and you turned it down. And as shown in 07 and 08 ferrari will back the quicker of the 2 drivers. which ever one that happens to be.
Lewis Stroll (@ginola14)
2nd December 2012, 21:51
Can Button explain why he was lapped by a victorious Lewis in Canada and finished 16th – in the same car?
electrolite (@electrolite)
2nd December 2012, 0:26
SE’KHIO!
I completely overlooked the fact Button will be the most experienced driver in the field next year. Incredible how quick that came about!
Jayfreese (@)
2nd December 2012, 0:43
Really amazed, still can remember 2000 when he was a young buck at williams, anyway i was one aswell but not driving an f1 car, argh.
Nick (@npf1)
2nd December 2012, 0:54
I was thinking the same thing the other day. Went through some old F1 magazined a couple of months ago and saw just how hard the media were on Button in 2000, but also after 2007/8. F1 moves in strange ways..
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
2nd December 2012, 9:12
@jayfreese @npf1 thats why I consider Button as the luckiest driver of the decade. From being written off in 2008 to winning the championship in 2009
electrolite (@electrolite)
2nd December 2012, 9:50
I see it as years and years of grafting and delivering decent results out of horrid cars rewarded with a bit of luck that, in my eyes, he was well overdue.
Lewis Stroll (@ginola14)
2nd December 2012, 22:36
Of all the world champions in the last 30 years, i have to say he is the weakest of them all; and there are other drivers who never lucked into a dominant car like he did e.g. G.Villeneuve.
His qualifying speed is decidedly second-rate that i wont be surprised that Sergio Perez comes in and outdoes him from the moment go. Fair enough, he is great in interchangeable conditions but he is poor compared to the other elite drivers in normal dry-weather races.
Jayfreese (@)
2nd December 2012, 10:37
One of, yes! with Yuji Ide taking part in a World Championship F1 Race lol
Poul Winther (@poul)
2nd December 2012, 10:24
The media hard on Button?? You must be joking, right? I stopped my F1 Racing subscription because I just could not stand seeing one more front cover or reading one more feature on Jenson. My disliking of Jenson is actually rather considering that it is almost fully due to the considerable amount of over exposure of this fairly good to mediocre driver and not so much due to his not particularly interesting personality.
electrolite (@electrolite)
2nd December 2012, 13:48
@poul He was alluding to how much things have changed since… ‘F1 moves in strange ways’. He used to get a lot of stick, but now he’s a favourite in the media.
Nick (@npf1)
2nd December 2012, 15:18
If it’s any consolidation, I’m Dutch and the Dutch F1 Racing was very hard on Jenson in 2007 (stating both Honda drivers should retire already) and national magazines wrote him off before the 2000 season, after Monza and after 2002.
matt90 (@matt90)
2nd December 2012, 15:37
Did nobody realise that the 07 Honda was a dog? During the 2nd half of 06 Button was probably the 3rd best driver on the grid!
sonia luff (@sonia54)
2nd December 2012, 20:18
And i don’t like Hamilton for exactly the same reason when he came into F1. It was always him and his father being interviewed every race as if no other driver existed. He was going to win every championship from then on. Er no he’s only won 1 by the skin of his teeth
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
2nd December 2012, 0:39
bobby epstein sounds as if CotA has introduced road circuits to america, and that all american race fans know only nascar. the article itself again marginalizes long-time american f1 fans, much as the international press does.
/raises hand
hey, we’ve been here the whole time, thanks. our interest goes much farther than a post-nascar bubble capital venture.
Nick (@npf1)
2nd December 2012, 0:59
Oh, my..
I’m not sure if this is true, but damn son, where did he find the time? He was married from late 2006 until late 2011, so if this is true, he could probably start a second Twitter account for pick up lines.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
2nd December 2012, 1:43
Simple: He gave it his maximum, constantly pushing…I better stop there…
celeste (@celeste)
2nd December 2012, 5:38
@colossal-squid lmao
@npf1 now we know the reason for the divorce ;)
Dave (@davea86)
2nd December 2012, 8:14
Ha why stop there?
He prefers a long stint but this year he’s had to stop for fresh rubber more often.
He’s popular with the ladies because like in the championship, he finishes second.
He never has to worry about Felipe getting in his way.
He very rarely fails to finish.
Although the downside is he sometimes needs a team mate to help him…
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
2nd December 2012, 13:05
@davea86 Haha brilliant! You dirty boy!
aka_robyn (@)
2nd December 2012, 14:24
LOL — good one!
Journeyer (@journeyer)
2nd December 2012, 1:50
@npf1 Where did you get this from? Would be fun to read this in full for the LOLz.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 2:00
It’s in Darren Heath’s article.
http://www.darrenheath.com/season/2012/brazil-2012/blog/hearts-and-minds
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
2nd December 2012, 7:41
He uses the best of his talent. Didn’t you know how big it is?
codesurge (@codesurge)
2nd December 2012, 9:31
For once, Felipe should be happy that Fernando is faster than him…
celeste (@celeste)
2nd December 2012, 14:11
lol… you guys this is a family contetn site…
But this one just lol.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
2nd December 2012, 1:54
Well. You scored 188 points compared to 278 for Alonso this season, now compare the cars both men were driving. There’s you answer, Jenson.
When the car suits Button he’s quick. When it doesn’t, he’s nowhere. Alonso is almost always quick regardless of how much he does like the car.
2011 Button was a match for Alonso. 2012, not so much.
davidnotcoulthard
2nd December 2012, 5:12
Either that, or Alonso simply doesn’t get a car that suits him. The same goes for all the top 3 teams, I suppose….we’ll probably never know for sure
Aditya Banerjee (@chicanef1)
2nd December 2012, 6:26
And he got beaten by a Caterham in Monaco….i sometimes wonder why Button is considered to be a likeable figure inspite of his constant moaning and whining,and considering himself to be a great WC when he was actually the most undeserving one after James Hunt…
heX
3rd December 2012, 10:30
Looks like it doesn’t pay to be a nice guy Button.
Just look at all these armchair experts bashing and criticising, like as if they think they could do a much better job.
Yes we can all give our own opinions on the matter, fair enough, but let’s not get too carried away shall we.
Have some respect for the man. He’s a World Champion in the pinnacle of motorsport, part of a very exclusive club of great individuals.
Most of us here would never be able to achieve such greatness, so please look in the mirror before thoughtlessly coming up with such strong, harsh criticism (especially under the wall of anonymity in the internet) , it’s not like as if we’re in any position to pass of such final judgement, after all, we’re all just lowly spectators, not experts in the field with inside knowledge and experience of the harsh competitive environment over there.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd December 2012, 7:26
I wonder if Button realises that he had a championship winning car and wasn’t even close to winning the WDC. Alonso didn’t have a championship winning car.. but nearly won the WDC.
Alonso would eat Button for breakfast
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 7:46
People said the same thing about Hamilton and Button this time three years ago …
Aditya Banerjee (@chicanef1)
2nd December 2012, 8:00
Alonso is a better no.1 than Hamilton, not just in terms of talent, but other abstract factors as well.
Fullhouse
2nd December 2012, 10:26
in terms of monopolize the team resources and ditch his teammate with old parts?? yeah he is
John H (@john-h)
2nd December 2012, 11:38
Button eats abstract factors for breakfast
Prarag Chopra
2nd December 2012, 12:28
Oh yeah, we saw that in 2007.
heX
3rd December 2012, 9:27
You don’t get 2nd in the constructors’ with a ‘miserable’ car you know…
Just look at how Massa has improved. He already got a strong result of 4th from as early as the British GP. They’ve been able to fight for the top 5 consistently since Barcelona.
It’s not like the Mclaren’s that ‘superior’, with various mechanical/pace/operational botch ups plaguing them. How are both drivers supposed to be able to be successful with that??
People are seriously underrating the F2012.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 3:15
In light of all the talk over who gets which number and why following the release of the entry list, I have to wonder whatever happened to Jean Todt’s proposal that drivers could (and should) be free to choose their own racing numbers in future.
Brace (@brace)
2nd December 2012, 4:19
I suppose they’d all want #1 :D
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 4:40
The proposal was that every number from 2 to 99 would be available. Drivers would pick a number and keep it for their careers, with the champion changing his number to 1 for the season(s) he is champion. For the years that he is champion, his regular number is semi-retired so that no-one else can take it.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
2nd December 2012, 11:13
Wouldn’t they run out of numbers pretty quickly?
I like the idea – the numbers now keep changing and are pretty meaningless – when they come up on a Race Control TV caption without names, I can never remember who’s who. And neither can the commentators, who interrupt themselves to read the caption out slowly and have a discussion about who car number 16 is (that never sounds good, guys. Look it up, then tell us).
Surprised FIA haven’t started selling the numbers to the highest bidder – they’ve already hiked the entry fees.
Nick (@npf1)
2nd December 2012, 15:22
I think, with drivers such as Hulkenberg not driving a year, then returning, we’d also have the potential problem of number 12 being Hulkenberg in 2010, Maldonado in 2011, then who would get number 12 in 2012?
I do think many Ferrari fans would love to see Ferrari go with 27 and 28 for another season, though.
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 13:10
I like that idea, it’s a pretty massive break from F1 heritage, but it would allow people to more easily learn drivers numbers.
bull mello (@bullmello)
2nd December 2012, 5:49
I appreciate the fact that Button is saying he would be willing to take on the challenge of having Alonso as a teammate and likely enjoy it. Probably there are other F1 drivers who may not feel the same way whether they are speaking out publicly about it or not.
Mike (@mike)
2nd December 2012, 13:11
It just shows that button mentally is in a really good place at the moment. Which could tie in very nicely at being the top guy in one of the top teams.
david d.m.
2nd December 2012, 7:36
Shame that HRT is disappearing but is also a shame that Cosworth has lost a customer every year since they came back in 2010, back then four teams used their engines and next year will very likely see the end of their involvement in F1.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
2nd December 2012, 17:17
That’s a good point.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 7:48
I’ve heard that Chery Automobiles seriously considered buying HRT. You may know Chery as the Chinese car company with the slogan “Why would you buy anything else?”, the correct answer to which is “Because they’re not made of asbestos”. Apparently they lost interest pretty quickly, though, and the talks never got past the preliminary stage.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
2nd December 2012, 7:49
And I just realised that I posted this in the wrong place. It was supposed to go here.
^Mo^
2nd December 2012, 8:44
I can’t believe Sky is posting a fake twitter account of Vettel :o It’s so obvious! See how long it takes before it starts to lead its own life on the Internet…
Klaas de Vries
2nd December 2012, 9:27
I think there’s a hidden message in Jenson’s quotes, it’s like: I finished Hamilton, ousted him from his own team, now I can take on anyone. But he’d better be looking and Perez rather than Fernando. Sergio is coming as an underdog and his first target will be Button. All the F1 paddock will be staring at you in 2013 Mr.Button, and for the first time in many years you’ll be feeling a lot of pressure on your shoulders.
Ady (@ady)
2nd December 2012, 13:35
If there is any hidden message, it’s more like JB is letting FA know that if things don’t work out at Ferrari he would be quite prepared to have FA as a team mate.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if Buttons contract was more orientated to WCC success as at the time they had no reason to suspect Lewis would leave. Having FA on board would give them a much better chance at the WCC.
William Brierty
2nd December 2012, 9:46
Sorry Jenson but I don’t see how this little theory works. You failed to beat Lewis Hamilton in the same team (in fact 2012 has been a bit of an embarrassment on Jenson’s side of the garage), and now for some reason you think you can beat Alonso; universally acknowledged as the finest driver there is. Sorry Jenson, but your rather demanding driver style would be a massive handicap against the ever-versatile Alonso; Button would have to have that illusive balance he so enjoys 100% of the time to even get close, and he most emphatically could not afford to go six races only scoring a handful of points as he did this year. I know what this is. Jenson is playing the war of words again, geeing up his team after the loss of one of the finest racing talents McLaren has ever seen and eyeing up a probable rival challenger for the 2013 title. For me; 2013 will be a titanic battle of McLaren vs Ferrari, Button vs Alonso; with Alonso more than likely taking the title.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
2nd December 2012, 9:51
Sky’s fake twitter account for Vettel is ridiculous! For one I don’t believe Vettel would be so illiterate, for second: “I’m better than all the drivers”, “Alonso is faster than me, that is impossible” – don’t get me wrong but Vettel strikes me as a modest type of guy who isn’t outlandish with his comments, so whoever actually made this Twitter account is a terrible actor.
I especially don’t think he’d say “box now,**** team” or “my teammate drives very bad”. That would be almost a parallel to Hamilton’s twitter misindevours!
The claim that is made though, as it would obviously be impossible to tweet during a race, is that “really my girlfriend tweet”: I don’t know if Seb would find those tweets funny but I sure as he’ll wouldn’t!
All this has done is given me a new hatred of Sky Sports, along with their inability to understand basic flag marshalling and consequently planting false notions into the general public.
Cornflakes (@cornflakes)
2nd December 2012, 10:16
Completely off-topic Keith, but are you planning on doing a stats and facts feature for the season as a whole? Always one of my favourite articles and would be interesting to see one for the year.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
2nd December 2012, 10:18
@Cornflakes Yep it’ll be in the 2012 season review
Cornflakes (@cornflakes)
2nd December 2012, 11:54
@keithcollantine Thanks!
Dafffid (@dafffid)
2nd December 2012, 10:41
The demise of HRT should bring with it one piece of good news: an improvement in qualifying.
With three backmarker teams Q1 was always tedious, waiting 20 minutes (when 15 would do), just to knock only one car out – and if a higher runner broke down or binned it early, that made the entire process a foregone conclusion.
Presumably, with 22 cars, they’ll amend the rules and exclude six and six cars across the two sessions (and hopefully shorten Q1 by five minutes) – with two cars KO’d that already improves matters.
But I think they should go a different route: they should continue to knock seven and seven cars out, leaving a top eight shoot-out. That would make the penalty for poor runs in Q1 and Q2 far more severe for complacent drivers and teams, and make each of the three sessions genuinely exciting; the scramble to get out of Q2 will become far more intense.
To work at its best though, they should remove the absurd requirement for the front-runners to start on their qualifying tyres – so all cars in Q3 really try to set a competitive lap, and end the situation where often P11 & P12 have been better slots than P9 and P10. (Forcing them to run would just be dumping another unnecessary rule on top of an already bad one)
Jason (@jason12)
2nd December 2012, 11:40
+1
maxthecat
2nd December 2012, 11:50
No one gave Button a chance against Hamilton and he outscored Lewis during their time as team mates. I can see Jenson at Ferrari in 2014 if Vettel chooses the easy route and avoids racing Alonso on equal terms.
Jimmy Clark
2nd December 2012, 11:58
The most important thing,is to love and enjoy racing.As you all see,Jenson was happier a lot more times than his teammate and seemed to enjoy racing more…And if you thing like a mature racer,you know that “consistency is the key”.Hamilton in Spain 2012??? Button in Canada 2011 !!! As for the reason of all our comments here,Alonso is really a great driver to challenge with and Jenson is REALLY having fun…
bull mello (@bullmello)
2nd December 2012, 19:01
+1
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
2nd December 2012, 15:48
Maybe I’m seeing a different Alonso, but I’m not sure how he can say he has “charisma in spadefuls.” From what I’ve observed, Fernando rarely seems to smile, expects to be placed on a pedestal above his teammates and then throws a fit when they don’t bow to his whims. This is the main reason I have been turned off of him. I have the utmost respect for him as a driver. Especially after witnessing what he did this year with that Ferrari. I like the underdog, normally. But his attitude exudes a feeling of entitlement that began to lose me since I started watching and ultimately alienated me at that fateful Hockenheim ’10 race.
DaveF1 (@davef1)
2nd December 2012, 16:35
In the ‘hottest girlfriend competition’ you certainly would Jenson, but that’s about it.