iSport F1 Pitstop: Reigning World Champion Jenson Button’s win in China has not only won him more points, but also the hearts of the Mclaren team writes iSport Motorsport Editor Kunal Shah. A perfect start to his title defence!
Jenson Button won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, becoming the only driver this season to register two wins! While Mclaren didn’t dominate the proceedings in Shanghai, they also registered their first 1-2 finish for the 2010 season with Lewis Hamilton charging his way up the field to finish in 2nd.
The tale of the two Mclaren drivers needs to be told. Both British. Both World Champions. But even with such similarities, when Jenson Button jumped ship from the Brawn GP team to Mclaren, many critics were quick to announce his doom. Reasons were plenty and like a lot of those pre-season testing times – not true!
Honestly, my loyalties towards Jenson Button have been like a see-saw. I loved his debut drive with Williams and then of course took to dis-liking him in his Renault days. Last year when he won his maiden title, I was happy for him, but certainly believed that he benefited from the car. I was even more surprised when Ross Brawn likened Button’s talent to Michael Schumacher – like really?
When Jenson Button moved to Mclaren last year, I had mixed feelings about his move. I felt he was very brave to move into Lewis Hamilton territory – the same territory that Fernando Alonso couldn’t conquer and quit. I also felt that Jenson Button wasn’t taking his world title win too seriously by moving from a stable team in Brawn GP to the Mclaren, where clearly he would play second fiddle to the other Brit driver.
However, it has taken Jenson Button only 4 GPs this season to show not just his team, but the world at large his prowess over Hamilton. Yes, Hamilton has been the quicker of the two and has probably overtaken more drivers than any other driver in 2010, but hasn’t been able to convert his pace into race wins. Button on the other hand, has picked up 2 wins and that too at GPs where he’s not always had the best car. He used his inherent skills of a racer to win!
You could draw a trend in Australia and China – they were wet GPs. But I would also like to share this trend – both the GPs were like a lottery and won by the driver who read the conditions correct. On both counts, Jenson was the first to switch to the non-preferred tyre choice (from slicks to inters or the other way round!) and reportedly against the team advise. He not just stuck to his tyre choice, but ensured that he survived his choice before going on to beat the field and win. He might lack Lewis’ pace, but what he does possess is the natural skill of a racer. And going back to Brawn’s Schumacher comment – Jenson and Schumacher were the first ones to take the bold decision to switch from racing slicks to inters in China. Drawing any parallels are you too?
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