Button: Relationship with Hamilton got “weird” at McLaren

2017 F1 season

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Jenson Button has revealed details of his relationship with Lewis Hamilton while the pair were team mates at McLaren.

The pair drove alongside each other from 2010 and 2012, until Hamilton left to join Mercedes.

In an extract published today, Button recounts his amazement at discovering Hamilton had publicly released the team’s telemetry information social media to show why Button had out-qualified him at Spa in 2012.

“Quite what was in his thinking, I couldn’t say,” wrote Button. “Certainly any displeasure he was showing was aimed at the team, not me, but I ended up being collateral damage because you don’t make telemetry public. You just don’t.”

“I wasn’t gasping in horror concerning his use of ‘WTF’ [‘what the fuck’],” Button added. “I like to see drivers expressing themselves.”

“The screengrab showed the kind of things you work hard to keep hidden from your rivals. I made my feelings known about that. The official version was that I was ‘disappointed’. Had I gone with my unofficial reaction it would have made ‘WTF’ seem very tame indeed.”

“But at the same time I knew it wasn’t personal. Bit dumb maybe. But not an ‘I hate Jenson’ thing so much as an ‘I’m fed up with McLaren’ thing.”

Hamilton was surprised Button passed him in Turkey
Button revealed Hamilton also challenged him over whether he ignored an order from the team not to overtake him during the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix when the pair were running first and second.

“He came straight out and asked me about it: ‘Did you pass me against team orders?’ He was the winner. Jesus.”

“‘No,’ I told him, ‘I did not pass you against orders. I was never told not to pass you.'”

Button described Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes as “a shame” because he’d “enjoyed our rivalry.”

“Off the track, however, he was still being a bit weird.”

Button’s autobiography “Life to the Limit” will be published on Thursday.

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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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136 comments on “Button: Relationship with Hamilton got “weird” at McLaren”

  1. Both Jenson and his old man are missed in F1. Two good characters.

    1. Agreed. Very much so.

    2. Nothing against button senior, but Jenson should just go away… mediocre driver making headlines to sell his book because he can’t make a living racing cars anymore.

      1. Haha, why don’t you tell us how you really feel.. agree on the mediocre thing though. Nice bloke however and love to see him as successor for DC on telly

        1. He’s worth a cool £86 million in 2017. God, how I wish I could be that mediocre.. tsk tsk.

          1. Fair point

  2. This book should be a fairly good read. I can never have enough driver autobiographies personally!

    I don’t think there’s a lot surprising about the “revelations” here though. Regarding Turkey 2010, Hamilton was told to slow down and hold position because his team-mate running behind him wasn’t going to pass… something which Button then immediately attempted. I think it’s totally fair that Hamilton asked Button for his side of the story, despite winning the race.

    As for the telemetry incident, of course Button was livid… it was a thoughtless act by Hamilton. 2012 was a horribly unlucky year for Hamilton, with his car breaking on him twice while leading, multiple mess-up’s in the pits and Grosjean’s bowling attempt into the first corner at Spa. There is no excuse for leaking telemetry from your own team though.

      1. Confirmed or pretended?

        1. Good point, specially if it was data that he wanted hidden from the competition. It makes sense to discredit its validity.

        2. nase, it might have made sense at the time to say that, but given that interview took place four years later (in September 2016) and months after Ron had confirmed that Button would be leaving McLaren, there is less of an incentive for Button to then say “it wasn’t real telemetry data” given that it wouldn’t really be of value to any team by then even if it was authentic.

      2. Simulator data is very close to the real thing. When you run a simulation you want to get everything as right as possible. If the simulation data is wrong then your start to the weekend is also going to be really bad because all technical assumptions that is based on simulation run are not valid. A lot of stuff is decided before the race. After all in this case mclaren decided to change gear ratios because of those simulation numbers we can now look at. Even if it isn’t data from cars from the qualifying it is still very real data.

  3. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
    16th October 2017, 13:56

    There’s a more comprehensive version of this story on the BBC site (but it omits the bit about the telemetry) – fascinating stuff.

    I can understand why there was tension – it’s the normal thing between super-competitive teammates. And with Button, he’s just so affable he risked winning around team, at least that’s how it might have seemed to Hamilton. Rosberg had some of that too – so damned comfortable in his own skin that people just warmed to him more readily, Hamilton can be a much edgier character.

    This year he’s taken so much more effort to bond with all parts of the team – including both sides of the garage – so I think he’s learned something from Rosberg. It’s all part of maturing – knocking some of the rough edges off Alonso and Hamilton, focusing Button’s work ethic; these guys do their growing up in a cauldron of pressure under the gaze of millions of viewers – it can’t be easy.

    1. Yeah, I think Hamilton might have grown a bit, but after what we saw last year of him against Rosberg, I wouldn’t say he’s grown that much.

      1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        16th October 2017, 17:30

        @rahnarlsmenves I think he’s grown up because of 2016. His attitude this year has been remarkable (and in sharp contrast to Vettel’s behaviour!).

        1. Hamilton has had a ton less pressure and stress this year without a teammate challenging him.

      2. I said long time ago Hamilton had a serious attitude problem. Dont know if its his massive ego or what? But heard how he talks to the team over the radio, I wouldn’t have him disrespecting anyone the way he does he’d be out in a jiffy. Maybe its his wealth?

        1. Magnussen and Raikkonen are the worst. But with them is “cool”, right?
          Magnussen told Hulkenberg to suck his balls! And Hamilton is the one who has and attitude problem…

          1. joe pineapples
            16th October 2017, 19:27

            stop speaking sense Edd.

          2. All of these are completely different. Magnussen told his RIVAL to suck his balls (a RIVAL who berated him during a live interview, mind you), which is actually quite entertaining – it’s showing that he is not a PR puppet. If anything, his own Team Principal seemed to actually appreciate it.

            Vettel told to feck himself to a damn RACE DIRECTOR, which is obviously not the same thing. And as we see this year, it’s just a momentary brain fart in the heat of the moment Vettel is becoming known for.

            As to Hamilton, I believe the attitude discussed here is directed at your own team (team-mates and engineers), as it directly reflects how the said team feels about you, and whether they’ll have your back at all times.

            It looks like Hamilton learned from 2016, when against all reasons it SEEMED that the team was leaning towards Rosberg, regardless of what’s being openly said, and despite the universal belief that Hamilton is a better driver overall.

        2. Michael Brown (@)
          16th October 2017, 22:48

          I can’t recall Hamilton being mean to his engineer

        3. @Mikey so Vettel should be fired as well for cursing at Charlie. Your hatred of Hamilton is transparent. Athletes get heated at times. Dwal with it and stop being a close minded wuss.

          1. SevenFiftySeven
            18th October 2017, 7:41

            Given Charlie’s incompetence and allegiance to his home country (while on the job), it was refreshing to hear Vettel lay that bombshell on him. Someone should do a number on Croft too.

    2. @thegrapeunwashed My wife and I were talking about this today and we were both struck by a (BBC) 5 Live Chequered Flag Podcast we listened to (probably end of 2016, one of the hour long season round up episodes), either Jack Nichols or Tom Clarkson were discussing the differences between Button and Hamilton towards the media; they found with Button he always ‘switched it on’ in front of the camera (or microphone) but otherwise would ignore the media. Whereas Hamilton for all his foibles, whether in a good mood or foul would make time for the media and they (Jack/Tom) felt he was the more authentic and courteous to speak to.

      1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        17th October 2017, 9:24

        @ju88sy yeah, I much prefer Hamilton’s style of just giving it to you direct – all the good and the bad – rather than trying to be the perfect corporate spokesman, which is what most drivers attempt. I have to say, while wishing Button well throughout his career, for most of it I was cheering on Alonso!

        Lewis has been on great form this year, here he is bantering with some Dutch fans –

        Happy Birthday to Max

        I laughed out loud when I first saw this!

  4. Im afraid Button wining over the team had very little to do with being affable and more to do with Identity politics.There was alot of resentment of Lewis success as a black driver within the team and management.Button sense that and played up the Im one of you happy chappy.
    Its the Trump phenomena where average people claim he is one them, and he knows thats what they want to believe so he plays the part.
    Button is very good with the media,and almost evêry false negative stero type of Lewis can be traced back to his time at Mclaren once Button teamed up with him,from tire killer,to erratic,unitelligent,moody ,cant lead…..And thats where Lewis coined the term STILL i RISE because there was a campange by forces within Mclaren and the media to deminish Lewis.
    heck even this week in the BBC doc about Lewis qualifing prowse Button is still repeating THE LIE that he is smooth and Lewis is ragged.And we know there no way you can drive an F1 car fast consistently and be ragged.but he gets awy with it unchallegened,
    Its the same lie we hear week in week out,Lewis is good but some weekend he doesnt show up like when,oh oh 2016 he was no where in singapore ah ah early this yr he got outqualified by Bottas…ok you guys demanding perfection of him then.
    Turkey 2010 is just a small snap shot of the night mare Lewis had to endure at Mclaren for 3yrs,where the team was constantly undermine him and trying to get Button to get one up on him….here a link https://vimeo.com/18831417

    In the end Lewis left Mclaren not for money or new engine but because he was Black balled by Mclaren,he could win the odd race but Button had to be on top,and that why when Button went 6 races and scred 6 points in 2012,while lewis was leading the championship,Martin Witmarsh dieverted all resourse to Button.

    1. You sure have a lot of projections there, John.
      Not everybody is racist, you know.

      1. With BEXIT,Trump the rise of ulta nationalist parties in France and all over Europe its very clear that That white Identity politics is alive and well.
        Yes Button Lewis is not weird he is just Black and maybe you and him just dont click just like every day life some people just dont mesh,but saying he is weird but not really discribing anything out of the ordinary is wierd and mischievous
        ,but the white media keep portraying Lewis like he is so different for doing what?partaking in mainstream pop culture,fashion show in Milan,jetskiing in Monaco…..(HUSH VOICE) oh he is black and hang out and befreind black music stars…you guys know that why he fell out with Ron Dennis…Ron didnt like seeing Lewis hanging around the likes of Pharrel and Pdiddy..he thought they would be a bad influence ,,,like in the movies maybe hold up a liquor store or something…Lewis told him to back off and thats putt in in kindly.Ron then endorsed the black balling of Lewis and then publicly offered him a paycut to try and humiliate Lewis…he then tried to stop Lewis going to Merc so Lewis would be forced to take his pay cut and be sorbodinate to Button.
        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2512119/Ron-Dennis-tried-convince-Mercedes-sign-Lewis-Hamilton.html
        https://thejudge13.com/2014/01/27/f1-features-what-went-wrong-with-mclaren-2012-part-ii/

        1. Mark in Florida
          16th October 2017, 17:21

          You keep saying that Lewis is black, is he no longer half white? People can also be weird no matter what their race is. It’s not exclusive to color. I personally don’t like Lewis because to me he is a prima donna, that’s an unattractive personality trait. That has nothing to do with race. All this junk about McLaren not liking Lewis is hogwash. Ron Dennis paved the way for Lewis racing career. If Ron were so prejudiced would he have went to the trouble at all? Your arguments hold water like a wicker basket.

          1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
            16th October 2017, 17:33

            Mark in Florida, he is black because that’s how society identifies him – same as Barack Obama, same as Tiger Woods.

            As for being a prima donna, that’s no different from Verstappen, Vettel or Alonso, so why single out Hamilton?

        2. @spactus

          Yes, the people who didn’t want Polish workers in Britain sure hated blacks.

          1. Or indeed the people who voted leave to protect Britain’s self-determinism. Much easier to paint all leavers as racists though.

          2. @f1bobby They’re not all racist. Some of them are gullible instead.

        3. Michael Brown (@)
          16th October 2017, 20:12

          @spactus

          With BEXIT,Trump the rise of ulta nationalist parties in France and all over Europe its very clear that That white Identity politics is alive and well.

          And this relates to the conversation how?

          Anyway, Hamilton’s off track lifestyle is the most glamourous of any F1 driver. It’s not traditional for an F1 racing driver to do what Hamilton does and that’s why people rag on him. That fact that he does all that and is so successful as an F1 champion makes them even more angry.

          I don’t know what’s going on but every time there’s a discussion about Hamilton on this site now there’s a comment accusing his detractors of racism.

      2. Yes they are it’s sad but true problem is no one wants to see it or talk about. Truth hurts at times.

    2. May be you should write a book..

    3. Jack (@jackisthestig)
      16th October 2017, 15:30

      What a load of nonsense.

      1. Yeah I stopped at ‘there was a lot of resentment of Lewis’ success as a black driver…’ what garbage.

        1. @robbie Indeed. The easiest way to tell someone is going on a rant is the way they’re typing. He shows lots of errors, but not just regular typos, it clearly shows his personal frustration. Just look at his past reactions from his profile tells you he types English very well. Just not this time… ;-)

      2. @jackistherealstig +1

    4. Big chip, not a lot of facts

    5. I agree with most of what john (@spactus) has said.

      And for those calling it “garbage” and “nonsense”, you need to do better than that. Explain why it is garbage. At least he explained himself.

      Everyone knows Whitmarsh was so far up Buttons’s rear and clearly favored him over Lewis. In that kind of toxic atmosphere, i can clearly understand why someone would feel paranoid and do something like tweeting telemetry to prove he was mislead.

      1. Well there’s a lot of sense to call racist the only team that took a black man in their junior programme, gave him an winning car and made him a champion. It’s very clear that they’re racist, no Hamilton fault in being disliked by many people.

        1. Racism is institutional. Please understand what that means. This is like claiming organizations are not institutionally racist because they employ minorities.

          1. or claiming a man is not sexist because he has a wife and daughter

          2. @kbdavies

            It seems to mean that you don’t care about facts…

          3. Michael Brown (@)
            16th October 2017, 20:00

            @kbdavies Show me a law that is racist in intent and we will agree that racism is institutional.

          4. You don’t need “a law that is racist in intent” to have institutional racism @mbr-9.

      2. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        16th October 2017, 17:19

        Everyone knows Whitmarsh was so far up Buttons’s rear and clearly favored him over Lewis.

        @kbdavies I never got that impression KBD, and I’m a Hamilton fan. I always thought McLaren was so nice to Button because he was made to look so second-rate by Hamilton. Sure, people repeatedly point to the ‘outscored over 3 years’ stat (and Hamilton certainly had a dip during the break-up of a relationship), but for those of us who actually watched the races, Hamilton looked a much higher calibre than his teammate, so McLaren’s main concern was to repeatedly reassure Button that he wasn’t regarded as a number two driver – that’s why they were so nice to him.

        After all, they’d seen Hamilton beat Alonso in his rookie year, destroy Kovalainen and now out-perform Button, they weren’t expecting his teammates to beat him, they just needed someone competitive and a good fit. Button was the perfect companion to Hamilton, but he wasn’t likely to beat him without a large slice of good luck.

        1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
          16th October 2017, 17:27

          And for anyone who thinks Button outscoring Hamilton over three seasons is a big deal, here’s James Allen’s assessment, including one startling statistic –

          Ahead in two-car finish: Hamilton 24 / Button 13

          That’s almost 2:1 better results over three years, despite Hamilton suffering his what is widely regarded as his weakest season in 2011!

          1. ‘Suffering?’ You mean admitting off-track distractions were costing him on the track?

        2. @thegrapeunwashed

          I thought it was VERY easy to read between the lines at McLaren. Whitmarsh and Button began to act like best buddies or father & son. I saw it then & felt like Lewis was pushed out of the nest because Ron Dennis wasn’t there anymore.

          I think that was a period when Lewis was being his rebellious teenage faze with relationship problems & his general attitude & style change. During that period, Jenson who was always the same. Was always composed & super media friendly & played that up well & I think that’s part of the reason Whitmarsh focused on Jenson & not focused less on his rebellious child.
          To me that’s when tension grew, then the stupid tweet. Then onto 2012 & McLaren frustration all helped to push him to Mercedes.

          Did anybody else notice the Jenson/ Whitmarsh bromance?
          Anyone remember any pre or post race interview that showed them chummy & putting their arms around each other. I remember it happening a few times. Just can’t remember which races.

          1. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
            17th October 2017, 8:37

            @s2g-unit Maybe Whitmarsh liked Button more (there’s no doubt he did), but he must have rated Hamilton more highly – and that’s what counts at the end of the day: Lewis was in a different league to Jenson. The great thing about Button is that he could deal with that information and still be a team asset – unlike Rosberg, who had decided by 2016 that Hamilton would never pass him on track, whatever it took. I’m sure Button was valued, I just don’t think anyone in McLaren was blind to his ability relative to Hamilton.

      3. @kbdavies

        And for those calling it “garbage” and “nonsense”, you need to do better than that.

        No. We don’t.

        When you fabricate drivel such as ‘there was alot of resentment of Lewis success as a black driver within the team and management’, just to create a fantasy whereby Hamilton was subjected to an internal campaign to bring him down by the team that had invested in him since he was a child, then you don’t deserve a dignified response. There are certainly instances over the three years they were teammates where you could assume that Button got preferential treatment but to suggest it was to do with internalised racism within the team is garbage and that is exactly what I am going to call it.

        If Hamilton was truly subjected to a racist witch hunt within the team as soon as Button joined when why did he chose to stay for another two years? Why, when he announced his move to Mercedes, did he give his thanks to the team and claim there were no issues? If Whitmarsh really hate Hamilton so much, then why convince him to stay? But then again, he got rid of Perez the following year, so maybe he hates all minorities, not just blacks.

        1. I disagree with the idea McLaren had any major racism issues. But there probably was a cultural gap, with Button finding it much easier to forge closer ties with an ‘old school’ Formula 1 mindset held by most of the team, while Hamilton was ‘being weird’ – an expression which really signals being socially and culturally different. Anyhow, Hamilton did the right thing moving out of there – and into Mercedes.

        2. This Lewis & racism thing is entirely an American concoction. They probably got fed up with studying chemtrails, hunting for a puff of smoke on the grassy knoll & working out how the US Corps of Engineers blew up the twin towers, and decided to hang the racist label on McLaren. Nice work guys-and keep your Trump to yourself if you please john@spactus

      4. With regards to the telemetry incident. What has gone unnoticed is what Ron did that weekend. This happened around the time of trying to get Lewis to sign a new contract and as measure of punishment and showing him who’s in charge, he ordered that they not share data with Lewis. Lewis was told that the data from his old wing, was working the same as the new one that Jenson had. That’s what pushed him over the edge.

        Remember when Lewis left McLaren, one of the first things Jenson said was, “that this is now my team”. How did that work out?

        Jenson couldn’t lead a team and that was evident from he entered F1. He was leading Brawn down a dark ally and it was so bad that the team started to follow the lead of Rubens. The same happened at McLaren, but it was masked because Lewis was able to cope with the issues they were having and eventually they went back to his guidance.

        Look at 2012, after his worse season in F1, he absolutely wiped the floor with Jenson.

        But it’s just that lazy argument people come up with to belittle Lewis. He’s not intelligent, technical or as hardworking as the other guys on the grid. But read James Allison’ comments about him. He said working with Lewis was one of the reasons why he joined McLaren and the person he met, is not the person he heard about.

        1. @kgn11

          You are the main guy who has a problem with the heritage of Lewis. You sound like his fan but seem to find it hard to accept his talent. If this was the 1950’s sure I get your arguments. It is 2017. Get with the times.

        2. “I’ve got a problem with his heritage”…

          What are you talking about?

          1. Kgn11, I believe they misread the last part of your comment.

      5. Jack (@jackisthestig)
        17th October 2017, 13:31

        “for those calling it “garbage” and “nonsense”, you need to do better than that. Explain why it is garbage.”

        Lewis’ relationship with McLaren soured because the team were being outperformed by Red Bull, he won the odd race but had to watch Vettel win the championship every year. I doubt he could have cared less about the cozy looking relationship between Whitmarsh and Button, incidentally something something I can’t say I really noticed at the time. Lewis just wanted a competitive package and wasn’t getting it. He was looking elsewhere early in 2011, publicly speaking to Red Bull before signing for Mercedes in 2012.

        To suggest the relationship between Hamilton and McLaren broke down due to the team favouring Button because Hamilton is black is so far wide of the mark I really don’t think it deserves a response other than to call it utter nonsense.

    6. Grassy Knollington
      16th October 2017, 17:16

      Yeah let’s nurture a driver from an early age, put him in a championship capable car, and then make sure he doesn’t win because he’s black. DERP.

      Like all good conspiracy theories, it’s eye-wateringly ill thought out.

      1. The person responsible for putting him there, Dennis, had stepped back. I’m not saying I agree it’s a racism issue, but your own argument isn’t watertight either.

    7. I think Lewis left Mclaren for money.

      IRCC one of the things he wanted more control of at Merc was his own “image” (and i interpret that as the same way David Beckham, Ronaldo etc all control their own image rights) – and you can’t tell me that isn’t for money.

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        16th October 2017, 22:51

        I recall in 2012 he also wanted to keep the original trophies he won – at that time McLaren kept the original trophy (even the trophy the driver won) and the driver would have to request a replica.

      2. So why should Mclaren profit off his image alone?

        Last time I checked, he took less money to join Mercedes. And even if he left for money, winning two WDC & on the verge of a third, doesn’t look so bad now, does it?

    8. This is correct. Everyone with any knowledge of F1 knows that all Lewis’ problems stem from him being black.

      For example, last year Rosberg won the championship because he was the only Aryan driver on the team, and he had full support from the German manufacturer because they are German and are known to be white supremacist. The Austrian leadership in the team were complicit also. And the fact that they employed Bottas, another blue eyed blonde haired WHITE driver, to replace Rosberg is just icing on the cake. Bottas has been given a year to get his feet and then will be competing for the championship next year just like Rosberg did, whilst Lewis is screwed over by the team.

      Remember when the Queen invited Hamilton to Wimbledon? It was just a fake invite, they never let him in when he arrived, because he was black.

      When Lewis left McClaren for Mercedes he did an interview on Top Gear and was asked the reasons behind leaving what was then a successful team and joining a team that was struggling with tyres and results. He didn’t give a knowing smile that we can look back on and suspect he was in the know about the strength of Mercedes challenge when the rules changed in 2014. Not at all. He said it was because he was Black and therefore he could never get ahead at McClaren.

      The only reason Lewis is doing so well a Mercedes this year is because Liberty have bought F1 and Ecclestone is no longer in charge of the sport. It is well known that Dennis, Whitmore and sometimes James Cameron would bargain with Ecclestone to have Lewis impeded in races and in the Championship. However, there is cause for concern now because Liberty is American, and Trump is leader of America right now and he’s unashamedly racist. Those close to the team tell me that Liberty are under pressure from to stymie Hamilton’s success in F1 right now. It is too late for 2017 probably, but fortunately they have a more palatable WHITE candidate at Mercedes to take the fore next year.

      If you try to argue against this, its likely you are a bigot and brainwashed by colonialistic ideals.

      /s

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        17th October 2017, 2:02

        I concede

    9. I must say that I find it hard to see what you see as clear case of discrimination there @spacus, @kbdavies.

      Now I fully agree that Button was very good at playing the media posterboy (especially with the UK media) by the time he got into that McLaren. But I also think he did do a great job, while it certainly did unsettle Lewis not be be blasting him away like he had gotten used to with Heikki in the last couple of years before.

      And you guys are probably right that race played a role for many people within (and probably even more those outside) the team – it can be hard to recognize that for “us white folks” who have never had to learn to recognize the small hints in their surroundings to understand/accept that as fact.

      But I think that some of Lewis antics (especially the telemetry thing, but also some of his tantrums) did hurt his standing in the team, especially with Button next to that “playing nice”.
      One thing you guys completely fail to mention, but which certainly should also be considered, is that part of the team actually did blame Lewis’ behaviour in 2007 for the downturn that followed the spy gate thing. He, and his father (I think that is part of the falling out between those two) were certainly partly to blame for how the relations broke down as much and as fast as they did.

      1. sorry – that should be @spactus

    10. It looks like your tinfoil hat fell off.

  5. At the time of the Turkey incident, I remember a lot of Hamilton fans wondering why Button tried to overtake when radio messages indicated he’d been told not to. I also remember many fans were quite suspicious of Whitmarsh, who seemed to favour Button over Lewis – eg on new parts. It seems, going by this account, the fans were right.

  6. Some are. If you follow the discussions around Hamilton, even among fans, it’s pretty obvious that for quite a number of them, the primary issue is what Hamilton looks like – something they clearly don’t like.

    1. +1000.

      Someone here one claimed that the colour of Lewis’s skin never once occurred to him. Can you believe that??

      Of course, this does not mean everyone who criticizes Lewis is racist. But the truth is, most who judge him harshly and hold him to a different standard than any other driver, do so BECAUSE of the colour of his skin.

      Again, this is the kind of racism that is prevalent today – holding black folk to a higher standard than all their peers. It is a subliminal and and far more insidious racism than the overt prejudicial one we can easily identify.

      Point is, as we have seen in other sports (and amongst fans/ coaches and officials of these sports), racism is clearly real and not a figment of the imagination. And to claim Formula 1 is somehow exempt is simply laughable.

      1. U nailed it. When the Alonso/Hamilton feud started at McLaren, Hamilton was racially chastised at the Spanish GP by the natives there. A little bit later (at Monaco I believe), when he and Massa were crashing into each other all the time, Hamilton stated that that they were penalizing him more because of his race (as in skin color). To me, that is when he started withdrawing and started gathering himself some ‘urban’ steam, which Ron Dennis could not stand.

          1. And it wasvery clearly a joke from Hamilton, not serious commentary.

      2. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
        16th October 2017, 17:37

        @kbdavies – agreed. All that stuff about dodging tax, living abroad, acting the playboy – things which no other F1 driver gets criticised for. It’s deeply weird.

        1. I remember when the British press used to literally praise Jenson Button for living exactly like Hamilton. Did: Home in Monaco, famous girlfriends, “Playboy” and “party animal” lifestyle… but Jenson was a lovable scamp. Parallels to James Hunt, & all that…
          Speaking of James Hunt, isn’t he idolized for basically doing everything Lewis does X1000? Just like Kimi & Alonso never get criticized for having tattoos… you have to be intentionally looking pretty intently in every other direction (or possess some seriously trick filtered glasses) not to see the obvious bias & double standard.

          1. Michael Brown (@)
            16th October 2017, 20:54

            I predict that after Hamilton retires he will be idolized in the same way as Hunt is.

          2. There’s a double standard for sure. The reason for it is quite unclear though. There was an article written as to why some British may not like Hamilton. Basic premise, he acted too “American” and not “British” enough. I recall when Vettel was winning there was the same double standard. It’s the car, he’s not that good, he’s selfish, (oh and the comments about his index finger, when giving the number one sign, were glorious) etc..

            Everything he did was scrutinized. I myself had small doubts about his ability as a driver until he stamped it out.

      3. Michael Brown (@)
        16th October 2017, 20:29

        @kbdavies

        Someone here one claimed that the colour of Lewis’s skin never once occurred to him. Can you believe that??

        This is where we differ significantly. There are people who don’t judge based on skin colour and instead base their judgment on character and actions. A far more sensible judgment since people don’t get to pick their skin colour.

        At this point I could cite Martin Luther King Jr’s philosophy since it’s the same as my previous paragraph, and bring up that he’s black. But that goes against my principles.

        This person you’re talking about, why is it so outrageous that they don’t take Hamilton’s skin colour into account? Are they supposed to treat him differently from any other person with a different skin colour? The answer is no, because Hamilton is human just like the rest of us.

        Of course, this does not mean everyone who criticizes Lewis is racist. But the truth is, most who judge him harshly and hold him to a different standard than any other driver, do so BECAUSE of the colour of his skin.

        Most? You give no evidence, and you give no evidence that he is judged harshly because of racism. You just say racism exists so therefore it has to apply in this case.

        1. + 1.

          F1 is diverse – Latinos, Asians, Indians, South Americans, Caucasians….we have had a driver, team principal, technician of every racial background in this sport.

          Specifically, Button was married to woman of Japanese origin (albeit briefly). So….why would he have an issue with Lewis’ skin color? I find this allegation of racism a bit disturbing….and the facts do not add up.

      4. Mark in Florida
        17th October 2017, 2:52

        So I guess that the NFL is totally racist against white people, being that about 75 percent of the players are black. It must be because of all the micro-aggression that has been institutionalized against the white man. Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. Just another example of the man holding us down. All of those millionaire blacks that can’t even respect the country that made it possible for them.

        1. @Mark

          How many owners are black? Why did they implement the “Rooney rule”

        2. Err – I think those black millionaires got there by hard work and their talent. Why do they have to be ‘grateful’? For what? They’ve got the talent and it’s been given full expression in the NFL.

  7. Interesting stuff.

    Can’t wait for Rosbergs’ book…..

  8. Just watched this link and was shocked at what happened. Lewis told to hold position on a promise that Jenson won’t try to pass but Jenson did anyway and pitwall seemed calm about it?:

    https://vimeo.com/18831417

    Was this deliberate from the team to have Jenson pass Lewis? And did Jenson lie about it after the race? What explanation what given to Lewis by the team after the race? Please someone enlighten me.

    And whats this story about Jenson favoured for newer parts and all resources directed towards his side of the garage.

    Please someone explain (if possible in detail).

    Thanks.

    1. That’s the first time I’ve seen this. No wonder Hamilton looked so glum on the too step of the podium.

    2. That videos is utterly shameful. It shows (beyond any doubt) McLaren trying to engineer a win for Button over Lewis.

      It means the pit wall (Whitmarsh & Lowe) blatantly lied to Lewis, Button is lying, or all three of them were in on it.

      Either way, it is no surprise that Lewis became paranoid and left. How on earth can you go through such, and people expect you to still trust your team???

      1. Grassy Knollington
        16th October 2017, 17:29

        How do you eliminate the possibility that it was a simple miscommunication? That the pitwall erroneously believed Button understood that he should not attempt to pass, that he had misheard or not heard a radio message?

        Oh wait, that’s right – everyone who doesn’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory is a shill, a paid agent. LOL.

        In other news, the dramatic worldwide rise in demand for tin foil continues unabated…

        1. @Grassy Knollington

          How do you eliminate the possibility that it was a simple miscommunication? That the pitwall erroneously believed Button understood that he should not attempt to pass, that he had misheard or not heard a radio message?

          And where is your proof of any of this? McLaren have had a few years to put out their explanation of the incident….but we have heard nothing. Button has just released a book years after the incident, but it contains none of the assumptions you make here.

          Labeling those who do not subscribe to the general view on issues, “conspiracy theorists” is a very lazy argument indeed.

          1. Grassy Knollington
            16th October 2017, 20:34

            Go look up “burden of proof”.

          2. @Grassy…

            Miscommunication…. really? He specifically asked if Jenson would pass him if he followed their orders to save fuel & the reply was NO.

            Exactly how is that miscommunication? They were all sitting on the same pitwall and could hear the entire conversation with the engineers.

          3. Grassy Knollington
            17th October 2017, 11:21

            @Kgn11

            Should be obvious I was referring to communication between Button and the team. Perhaps Button misheard, or did not hear, an order from the team not to pass Hamilton. Perhaps a fuel-saving order was given which Button misunderstood as general “we’re going to need to save fuel at some point” advice, when the team meant “both cars are now in fuel saving mode, hold position”. The English language is littered with ambiguities which can easily lead to such a misunderstanding. Perhaps his radio simply cut out at a key moment.

            To declare as proven the notion that the team were deliberately trying to screw Hamilton over because of his skin colour is absurd. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and a series of confused non-sequiturs and a compilation of video clips which can easily be crafted to leave out key details by someone with an axe to grind, do not constitute extraordinary evidence.

            I’m not saying “I’ve proven that it was miscommunication”; I’m saying it’s a possibility which makes fewer assumptions (see “Occam’s razor”) and must be eliminated in order for the conspiracy theorists to prove their case.

            Such simple errors in logic and omission of key facts are the foundation upon which all conspiracy theories are built. It’s easy to knock up a video designed to make people believe that the earth is flat, so long as you don’t mention the existence of time zones or the fact that when you travel to the opposite hemisphere and look up at night you see different stars. It’s easy to make people believe in homeopathy if they have no understanding of confirmation bias, confusing correlation with causation, cherry-picking evidence, regression fallacy or the placebo effect.

            The reason such conspiracy theories persist after having been shown to be unsupported is that the conspiracy theorists are in love with the notion that they’ve figured something out; that their monumental brain power has defeated the all-powerful shadowy elites and secret societies who control everything. Any conflicting facts or reasoning are simply ignored. Telling a conspiracy theorist that he’s wrong is, in his mind, telling him that all this time he’s been congratulating himself on being so clever and calling the unbelievers sheeple, the reality was the reverse: he was the sheep and has been making a fool of himself. His ego can’t handle it, so it sticks its fingers in its ears and goes “LA LA LA LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU”.

        2. Mate by your very definition given so logorrheically above, your asserted ‘miscommunication’ possibility is the conspiracy theory.

          The FACTS as evidenced in the video indicate there was no miscommunication, the directives to slow down were emphatic, Hamilton’s race was definitely compromised, and the sabotage was clear when neither were apologies given, nor the slow-down orders to ‘save fuel’ repeated once Button lost his chance to stick the overtake.

          When you’re done deluding yourself with half-remembered freshman Psych, get familiar with the fact that McLaren intentionally screwed with Lewis often to flatter Button’s mundanity, and that he prevailed regardless.

        3. SevenFiftySeven
          18th October 2017, 9:10

          The claim is quite ordinary, not extraordinary due to historical precedence. Some Nation’s love for this inexplicable mindset called racism is well documented in factual history, not only in mindset, but also in acts inspired by that mindset throughout history. How much of that mindset is still present? Who knows. Recent developments in one country (which is the offspring of a well known country of racism) has also shown that the mindset can have cyclic re-occurrences. There’s nothing extraordinary about all of this.

      2. I always thought that McLaren favoured Jenson more than Hamilton. That video is such an eye opener. I remember that race and was quite baffled by Jenson’s overtaking at the end. The pit wall clearly lied to him.

        I’m so glad he left McLaren and went to Mercedes. TBH, LH’s inherent talent has been given the best platform at Mercedes – the wonderful combination of his skills with Germanic execution/performance.

        I’m disappointed that Jenson wrote this, quite petty and venal – I’ve seen him do the post qualy discussions with LH and thought they warm ex – team mates. Oh well.

    3. Two observations: 1. The McLaren pit wall were absolutely ridiculous, it seems like a blatant lie to slow down Hamilton and get Button past. The silence is particularly deafening. Where was the ‘sorry Lewis, we’ve told Button to give the place back’ moment? 2. Hamilton wins the place back with a quick display of sheer talent. And McLaren eventually kept the slow one. No wonder the team is such an utter mess now.

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        16th October 2017, 20:58

        @david-br It’s hard not to be delighted when you see McLaren in P9 – they were out of their minds.

      2. @david-br

        I agree. There’s no denying that there was some sort of hidden agenda on the pitwall that day.

        I honestly think Whitmarsh never liked Hamilton. Maybe because in 2009 Lewis was really brutal with the team at times, maybe there was just a personality clash, or maybe Whitmarsh wanted to stamp his authority on the team by not favouring Ron Dennis’ golden boy. Either ways, there was no doubt that Whitmarsh had a much better professional and personal relationship with Jenson than he did with Hamilton.

        I think the one of the biggest reasons Whitmarsh got dumped as team principal was because he couldn’t keep Lewis happy within the team and extend his contract with McLaren. Whitmarsh made the stupidest decision any team principal ever made – which was to believe McLaren would be able to move forward with Jenson’s leadership.

        While Jenson’s fans will make statements like he scored more points than Hamilton while at McLaren, the truth of the matter is that Jenson was a little lucky to mask his embarrassing beatings in 2010 and 2012. Any F1 fan who was watching the sport at the time would agree that Lewis was the quicker qualifier and the better racer on Sundays.

        If there was ever a wake up call for Whitmarsh that Jenson isn’t really capable of maximising Mclaren’s championship hopes, it should have happened in 2012 when Lewis was embarrassing Jenson on track. Jenson was complaining about massive oversteer/understeer/balance among other elements of his whine list, while Lewis was fighting for poles and wins. The gulf in class between Lewis and Jenson in 2012 is similar to the gulf in class between Hulkenberg/Palmer, Vettel/Raikkonnen this year.

        I knew Whitmarsh was going to get fired after the 2012 season. He managed to –
        1) To throw a championship away due to operational issues
        2) Not re-sign a driver who has been a McLaren protege, a team leader and their last world champion
        3) Make Jenson the team leader going forward. Jenson was a tier 2 driver at best. Maybe Martin was sleeping during the 2nd half of 2009 and the entire 2012 season to not notice that Jenson isn’t capable of leading a team forwards. The guy managed to luck in to one WDC, but it would be highly unlikely to repeat again.

        1. @todfod Agree entirely. The only thing I’d add is that the deterioration in Hamilton’s relationship with McLaren can be traced right to the start of 2009 and the Australian safety car incident, when the team seemed to have pressurized him into misleading the stewards about him being given an instruction to let Trulli past, leading to the latter being penalized. Aside from bizarre, since everyone knew he’d been told to let Trulli past, that seriously compromised Hamilton’s name when the stewards found both the team and himself to have been in the wrong (lying basically). Presumably he could never really trust the McLaren management 100% after that. So when McLaren started gearing the team to accommodate Button’s car handling issues – which had the ultimate aim, really, of making Button look better rather than producing the fastest car for the fastest driver – the grounds were already there for distrust about motives.

    4. Michael Brown (@)
      16th October 2017, 22:52

      The original Multi-21

    5. Michael Brown (@)
      17th October 2017, 2:05

      I wonder if McLaren kept quiet about all of this and just let the collision between the Red Bull drivers dominate the news after the race.

    6. Wow, that’s almost exactly the like the stunt they pulled on Webber. When they told Webber that he needed to save fuel and at the same time they told Vettel he’d have a few laps to get past. In the same race no less!

      Or Hockenheim 2010 where they told Massa to turn his engine down and urged Alonso to step on it to show “he was faster”.

  9. I really believe Lewis’ frustration was for these reasons:

    Whitmarsh & Button acting like father & son (since Lewis’ “dad” Ron Dennis was gone). I remember very clearly how Whitmarsh & Button acted in pre & post race interviews & it to me seemed like office politics.

    Lewis’ tweet to me was frustration because he knows he’s faster than Jenson (which I think we can all agree on). He just wrongfully wanted to vent because he hated being beaten that day.

    1. Forgot to add, it seemed like Lewis felt like he was being pushed out of the McLaren nest because Jenson was best buddy with Whitmarsh.

      1. Well the main thing is … when one door closed, a better one surely opened up!

    2. Personally I think McLaren went backwards hiring Button. Remember all those weekends where Hamilton sorted out the car balance while Button was struggling? Then the car started to be developed to cater for Button rather than the guy who’d got them a title (and almost won in his rookie year). Bit like Mercedes catering for Schumacher when Rosberg was doing fine, and effectively going backwards. I wouldn’t blame Button – he used all his ‘affable’ resources to lever space in the team, though it’s a quality I tend to find suspect, preferring edgier characters myself (Hamilton, Senna, Verstappen). But the end result was certainly stagnation of the team and the sport’s best racer at the time leaving. As F1 racer says, though, their loss, definitely Hamilton’s gain.

  10. He did, however, reveal that, in leaving McLaren, he thought Hamilton had made the wrong decision. “He has chosen to go his own way at the end of the year. It is his decision, although I personally don’t think it is the right decision,” he said, adding that the two drivers still maintained a solid working relationship. “We are not close friends. We work together and have a good working relationship,” he said. “If we think there is something wrong with the car we will work on it.”

    quoted from here
    At the time, Button never mentioned anything about Lewis being ‘weird’, which it seems is the favorite headline now. I think Button and Rosberg trying to become a ‘pundit’ at Sky. Perhaps both Button and Rosberg thinks if they can bash Lewis they are more likely to get the job at Sky.

    He did, however, reveal that, in leaving McLaren, he thought Hamilton had made the wrong decision. “He has chosen to go his own way at the end of the year. It is his decision, although I personally don’t think it is the right decision,” he said, adding that the two drivers still maintained a solid working relationship. “We are not close friends. We work together and have a good working relationship,” he said. “If we think there is something wrong with the car we will work on it.”

    quoted from here
    At the time, Button never mentioned anything about Lewis being ‘weird’, which it seems is the favorite headline now. I think Button and Rosberg trying to become a ‘pundit’ at Sky. Perhaps both Button and Rosberg thinks if they can bash Lewis they are more likely to get the job at Sky. Please do not bring any ‘racism’ into this.

    1. Love the conjecture etc. in there @shoponf. First of all, while Button was still with the team, his interviews would have to be within team protocol, i.e. he could not say just everything he liked.

      But what really got me is this one

      I think Button and Rosberg trying to become a ‘pundit’ at Sky. Perhaps both Button and Rosberg thinks if they can bash Lewis they are more likely to get the job at Sky.

      Where to start on that? Maybe with the fact that Sky are rather hyped up about Lewis WINNING and being the champ? So they aren’t actually that keen on “Lewis bashing”? Or maybe the fact that Button has shown his face at maybe 2 races this year? Or maybe that sure, I can see Sky working with Rosberg (he was on Italian and German as well as English Sky), but your idee fixe doesn’t at all fit that Rosberg actually was rather praising Lewis driving.

      1. Yeah, bashing on Hamilton was more Eddie Jordan’s thing on the BBC.

  11. Hoo boy. Right in the hornets’ nest.

  12. Jenson Button is a joker. Lewis is given a message to slow down & hold position, as well as the assurance that his teammate won’t attack him & Button comes up & promptly overtakes. Immediately after the race, the man chooses to ask you directly about it instead of stewing over it or pretending it didn’t happen, or going off hearsay & conjecture, yet Jenson Button finds that weird & thinks Lewis shouldn’t have asked him anything about hit simply because “he won”? Tweeting the telemetry was pretty ridiculous, but even that didn’t just come out of the blue: Lewis was told explicitly that there was no significant difference between the two setups… as we’ve all seen via the ill-advised telemetry tweet, there was a pretty significant difference. If this is “weird” then I have to admit I’m a seriously “weird” individual as well. I’m pretty sure I’d have made a bigger deal in both instances.

    1. Dropping his father as manager may well have been the right decision long-term, but it probably had an effect on this kind of internal political issue, something Button was clearly adept at exploiting to his own benefit. The telemetry data release undoubtedly only caused further antagonism within the team, but if he was told the setups were similar and they weren’t, the real blame lies elsewhere – ineffective and poor team management. That was very clear in McLaren after Dennis gradually backed off following the turmoil of 2007 and 2008.

    2. I agree. For Jenson to call him ‘weird’ for a confrontation after Turkey 2010, just shows the bias and pettiness of Jenson’s mindset.

      I’m not looking forward to what Jenson has to say in his book.

      He was a media-friendly fellow, a politically correct, and diplomatic individual. I always thought he was a cliche personality and an average driver with immense whining potential. I don’t see how his memoirs can be particularly delightful. People here are looking forward to what he says about Lewis… and that would most likely be the most interesting part of his book.

      1. I really don’t see the point in these kind of memoirs. It can’t be for the money. He presumably doesn’t actually just simply like writing. He’s still young and hasn’t been out of Formula 1 long enough to have sufficient distance to evaluate things more deeply or be ready to reveal enough to cause more than passing (and possibly needless) irritation to those still in the frontline of the sport. He doesn’t seem to be someone with enough of a ‘left-field’ personality to make his views especially interesting. And let’s be honest, he’s not really a key player in any of the real machinations. So it just sounds like bland, mildly annoying fare that only his fanbase will find (mildly) diverting.

  13. We saw at this incindent, and we saw it during the rosberg years, Hamilton doesn’t like to lose which makes him a great racing driver. Trouble is, the way he expresses being fairly beaten comes across as whiny and petty, this is why a lot of people who I know don’t like him. Hamilton 2017 is a lot more bearable because he’s number one driver at Mercedes and the championship is his to lose. Put him in a team with Verstappen and see him self implode. Looking forward to reading Jenson’s book.

    1. Grassy Knollington
      16th October 2017, 20:42

      Yet they do like drivers who come across as equally whiny and petty when they lose.

    2. @emu55

      Hamilton handles being fairly beaten quite well. Take Monaco 2013 for instance. He wasn’t happy to lose, but he knew it was his fault.

      It’s the times when he doesn’t think something was fair that he lashes out. There may often be cause for debate around those times, Monaco again springs to mind for 2014’s controversy. But the times he whines it’s at least open to debate something unjust had happened.

      Any other times he holds himself to account.

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        16th October 2017, 23:00

        @philipgb I can’t agree more with this.

  14. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    16th October 2017, 21:02

    I feel bad for Hamilton for having to put up with McLaren for 5 years – it was a tough, tough time no doubt! Hamilton would serve them the WDC on a silver platter with their cars which weren’t WDC winning cars and they would do anything they could to screw him up. You have to assume it was intentional because if it was unintentional then they just to be the most incompetent team on the paddock.

    Judging by the past 3 years, perhaps they are and maybe now that Alonso has spent the same time almost as Lewis, he’s come to realize it:-)

    1. Must be sarcasm, no?

  15. u guys get commission for selling these books?

    1. As you can see there isn’t a link to buy this book on this page, so not in this case.

      When there are commission links on a page it is made clear, as was the case on the book review published yesterday:

      https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/10/15/the-mechanic-by-marc-priestley-reviewed/

  16. @Michael Brown (@mbr-9)

    Show me a law that is racist in intent and we will agree that racism is institutional”

    No need for that. Here is a link to an article by one of Britain’s only non-white judges claiming – “UK justice system is racist” – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-justice-system-racist-ethnic-minority-judges-peter-herbert-lutfur-rahman-tower-hamlets-a7518176.html

    But then, you probaly know more about the issue than he does, and he is obviously biased.

    1. Hamilton is black? I thought he was British. Yep me, done it.

      Why is this an issue. Fantastic driver who happens to have very tanned skin. So what. Proper fans treat him as another driver who they dislike or like. If race is an issue then that’s their problem. Ain’t a majority.

      You want to beat it. Don’t dwell on it. If anything Lewis is more of an example to poor people rather than those of heritage.

      Yep it does exist. But if you want to beat it then do better.

      And I come from a racist and sexist country. Paycheck at the end of the day enlightens the stupid.

  17. Gustavo sobrino
    17th October 2017, 0:20

    Can i give my opinion as an outsider?
    BUT and HAM rivalry was, imo as Mexican, handled very neutral. Maybe your preference bias was paitinga picture where you felt that ham was receiving less support but I can tell your, from the outside it was very neutral. It like my preference for Checo, I don’t like Ocon and I feel that Force India should be controlling him so that PER gets the best result. But I’m aware enough of my bias and then have to accept that the team is not undermining my favorite driver, they are just trying to get the best for the team.
    If mclaren saw in But a leveled headed, easier to work with driver to get the best result for the team, thats ham fault. I do remember how ham was acting in those years even to the point of bin it a lot of times with massa.

  18. Jenson tried to push Lewis out of the McLaren team and make it his own. JB was always a smooth but slimy operator. Along with Whitmarsh, they played all kinds of games with an immature Lewis. JB got his just desserts when the McLaren team went into complete decline after 2013 and Hamilton moved to this dominant team.

    It has been Lewis Hamilton vs McLaren 40-0 since then. Hamilton has a lot to thank Jenson for actually. Jenson lucked into a WDC with Brawn GP and is nowhere near the class of Hamilton. “Button described Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes as “a shame” because he’d “enjoyed our rivalry.” Yeah right. He left to win WDCs and not waste his time driving around the back of the field competing with you.

    1. +1000

      No one has mentioned that just prior to tweet gate Hamilton had just lapped his team mate, in the dry with no safety cars or issues in working very much, the same car! Unheard of frankly at that time.

      Macca were desperate to show the car was great and needed for their own reasons to show the car was fabulous and not that only one driver had the talent to win with it. It could not be just the driver. That was mission unfriendly for Whitmarsh. Huge mistake.

      Jenson went missing for half the year, the team ruined any chance of getting a WDC because they were arrogant enough to think it was all about their car and only focused on that side of the garage. It cost in reliability and some of the most ridiculous strategy and reliability issues in a year that needed full focus on the driver most able.

      As a result they lost their last champion, embarrassed themselves with truly ridiculous pit and reliability issues and have headed for the back ever since…

      All while watching said maestro clear off to more poles than anyone, race an equal team mate and start a road to the kind of stats only dreamed about post shumi.

      They made an unnecessary rod for their backs by trying much too hard to resolve Jensons issues and boy oh boy are they paying for it.

      Then Jenson comes out with that twaddle? I would just keep quiet because the year on year results make for terrible reading despite the obvious advantages he enjoyed. Frankly, embarrassing in all honesty and when reliability and pit issues are excluded, I got a few more points than you over three years is a frankly laughable statistic in the none existent three year accumulated championship!

      Karma is a bitch.

      1. +1000 back. Remember all that stuff about Jenson is the guy who develops the car and treating Lewis as if he was a village idiot. Jenson neither developed the car nor was he a team leader. He kept whingeing about “no grip” and embarassing the team all the time

  19. First of all, I’m a Hamilton fan and have been since he came into F1. But i’d like to think I can leave my bias to the side.

    The James Allen article at the end of the 2012 season shows pretty well that despite some of the “facts” Lewis was clearly the superior driver across the 3 years. Jenson beat Lewis in 1 season, 2011 which quite clearly was Lewis’ worst ever season in F1 and many would argue was Jenson’s best. Button thoroughly deserved to beat Hamilton that year, he drove superbly and Hamilton was error prone.

    But to use the points scored alone argument to suggest Button out raced Lewis is wrong IMO. As a few have alluded to if you watched the Races back then it was clear Hamilton was the better driver. 2012 Canada – Hamilton wins the race, Jenson finished 12th…IIRC he had no mechanical or other issue affecting him that day, just miles off the pace.

    Jenson was a very good driver, but he wasn’t in the same class as Lewis/Vettel/Alonso. Capable of pulling something special out of nowhere unless he had the car exactly as he wanted. Even in his champ year he struggled most of the second half of the season and was regularly out paced by Barrichello.

    I think where Jenson was clever was in the way he operated around and within the team. Mclaren have as time has gone on adopted some strange strategies and policies in my opinion. There seems to be this arrogance from them that because they dominated the sport in the 80s and early 90s that they have a right to win. Ron Dennis wouldn’t drop their asking rate for sponsors so they have gone years without big sponsorship backing. There was at the time some speculation in the press that Whitmarsh favoured Button because he had brought him in as “his man” he wanted him to succeed.

    Button was very savvy with the media too, i can’t remember where I read it before but i saw before that every season he would take all the British F1 Journalists out for a dinner at the start of every season. No doubt the learned that after his early days when he had a lot of stick from the press about his lifestyle etc.

  20. Always liked BUT as a driver, especially impressed with his Canada win in the rain, think HAM crashed out of that one, but it was an awesome drive.

    Racism etc,etc… It won’t go away in any sport or field it’s a fact of life. HAM’s achievements have arguably been even more impressive if there’s been barriers put in front of him because of things he had no control over heritage, wealth or his personality. Thankfully he hasn’t used them as an excuse and got on with the job he does very well. He deserves all that’s come his way.

    I hope BUT finds a better way to spend his time now rather than recalling past incidents and creating unnecessary controversy.

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