Jenson Button

Arguably the best ever driver in mixed conditions, all his wins at Mclaren have come in those conditions. His last race win in the dry came at the 2009 Turkish GP.

Button is known for his smooth driving style and is normally seen in must races doing one less stop than his rivals for tyres.

Buttons also know to be a bit of a practical joker and will take part in anything fun.

Since his debut in 2000 Button has won the majority of hearts in this country. But what is your favourite JB win?

Mine has to be Hungaroring 2006, in argubly a midfield team and he won the race in those mixed conditions to take his first win. I can remember James Allen been in tears almost and that was the first race Anthony Davidson ever commentated on.

 

[RickD]

Brogan - As you well know, that is a simplistic view. Doesn't mater how much you trust something or someone, if you are asked to do something that doesn't seem right, you are going to ask the question.

 

[Brogan]

I'm playing Devil's Advocate as all the same comments have been made about his team mate at one time or another.

Do as your team tells you and you are considered naive, lacking tactical nous and unable to think for yourself.
Question your team and you are accused of not trusting them, being arrogant and think you know better than all the engineers and strategists, etc.

A quick trawl through various threads will show that to be the case.

 

[RickD]

If thats the case, shouldn't your post be on the Vs thread then Brogan ?

 

[Brogan]

No, because I'm talking about Button.

Button obviously wasn't happy with the strategy and queried it.
At the end of the day though he had little choice but to accede to the teams' wishes/demands and duly came in for a tyre change.
As it turns out, McLaren appear to have got it wrong, again.
If Button had managed to get out in front of Senna though it could have been a different story.

Let's not forget that until very recently, FOM only provided the radio messages they wanted us to hear, allowing them to put their own spin on things.

The point I'm making is that things are never black and white and more people would do well to realise that when discussing all drivers, not just their favourites or those they like/dislike.

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

Rightly or wrongly, I believe that JB was used as a bit of a test case... new softs vs old mediums... it proved to McLaren that track position was king, and LH took the win... unfortunately for JB he is that far back in the WDC that he is the unofficial #2 now at McLaren... he is free to race and could well take a win down the stretch... a similar situation to SV and MW last year at RBR...

The planets have aligned, the confluence of effluent races that JB had leading into Germany and Hamiltons approx. 0.2s+ lap advantage over him have made this so...

I like JB and I hope he comes on strong for the second half of the season...but I think he knows it, the team know it and the pitlane knows it...

 

[teabagyokel]

Senna's_right_foot - Just as a point of order, the reason McLaren were sure that Alonso and Vettel would stop in Canada is because they would have been absolutely insane not to, and McLaren were proved right.

Does anyone know what would have happened to Button had he done Plan A? I don't think he had the pace to get in front of Grosjean, and his tyre wear has been the higher thus far this season.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'm not sure he would have gotten past Grosjean and at the time nobody expected to see what Kimi did, but I believe he would have finished fourth at a minimum.

I have been guilty of Brogan 's point of questioning Hamilton's blind faith in team tactics but only when it has been in changeable weather conditions such as at Hungary when Jenson was told to pit but didn't and Hamilton did which again turned out to be a massive mistake by the team, but on that occasion Jenson dodged the bullet that the team seem hell bent on shooting both their drivers with...

 

[The Pits]

As I think I have said,the three stops aside, traffic after the pit stops and a dodgy front left put him behind vettel and Alonso, so even with three stops an extra lap on the second stint could have put him ahead of Senna, and I think that in turn would have put him fifth, or maybe fourth. That would have taken more points off Alonso and vettel, as we saw that overtaking was tough.

 

[Wombcat]

As I think I have said,the three stops aside, traffic after the pit stops and a dodgy front left put him behind vettel and Alonso, so even with three stops an extra lap on the second stint could have put him ahead of Senna, and I think that in turn would have put him fifth, or maybe fourth. That would have taken more points off Alonso and vettel, as we saw that overtaking was tough.

I agree. McLaren should have seen he was coming out of the pits behind Senna, and should have kept him out a lap longer.
I agree with teabagyokel that Buttons' tyrewear this year has been higher than others, and I doubt that he would have gotten to the end with his set. He was the first to pit in both stints.

 

[Mephistopheles]

The problem with that is he said his tyres were absolutely fine, tyre wear has been a problem in the past but not this time...

Nah I think the team just ballsed it up.

 

[Il_leone]

Ross BRawn would have never called it like that which makes me think Sam Michael is a waste of space at Mclaren

 

[gethinceri]

I agree, Sam Michael is a tool.

 

[racecub]

.What really beggars belief is that they wanted to try the same thing with Lewis, despite seeing it not work and Lewis telling them his tyres were ok

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yeah it's almost like they don't want their drivers to win, they should get rid of Sam..

 

[teabagyokel]

Just a quick rain-check, McLaren did win this race, no?

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yes despite McLaren's best efforts not because of them...

 

[Lewywo4]

Yeah it's almost like they don't want their drivers to win, they should get rid of Sam..

Getting rid of Sam, maynot be the total answer to the foulup regarding Jenson's tire use at Hungary yesterday. Based back at Woking's mission control, race engineers, strategists and engine analysts are feeding info during a race to engineers at the Grand Prix, play in the decision making process for people like Michaels and Whitmarsh?

Something that I'll never forget, was the brilliance that was shown by mission control, during the 2007 Chinese GP.

 

[Hamberg]

Also didn't the Red Bulls also go for a 3 stop for both drivers? It's not some random strategy that nobody else considered worthy of trying and given what's happened to the likes of Alonso and Raikkonen this year a few laps from the end it was totally conceivable that could happen again and the 3 stop was suddenly the call of the race.

Not being able to get ahead of Bruno was a shock - faster car, tyres 20 laps younger, DRS, higher powered KERS - it should have been a no brainer that he was able to get past, but he couldn't.
And how many people thought Hamilton's tyres would fall off and Kimi would be ahead within a matter of laps? How many of you thought, Red Bull are on to something here when Vettel came in?

Yes i believe Jenson was able to show that it doesn't matter how fresh your tyres are, if you're behind, you stay behind (in addition to Vettel).

Therefore McLaren did 'use' Jenson but not as a guinea pig for Lewis, it was more as a hindsight situation and that the only chance McLaren had of a win was 'hoping' Hamilton's tyres would last, but not even they thought that.

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

Imagine if Jenson had got around Bruno and had put in a couple of super quick laps as he drove up to the gearbox of the next guy... McLaren bring Lewis in... JB gets stuck behind whomever that was... race over for JB... no win methinks for LH...

 

[Bill Boddy]

Vettel doing a 3 stopper was a no lose situation. He simply was not doing enough to have a chance of a podium as he was. Bringing him in would not lose a place and there was always the chance that if he could put in fast laps and Grosjean's tyres went off Vettel could get past him. But that was always only an outside chance.