Jenson is well behind Lewis

Brogan

Brogan

Legend
Staff Member
Nick Fry is already putting the boot in by claiming that "there's clearly a gap that Jenson is going to have to close. It's absolutely self-evident."

Now we're only 1 race in to the season so perhaps this is just a bit of mind games from Nick Fry.
Having said that, Alonso has already stamped his authority on Ferrari and Michael Schumcher is barely behind Nico Rosberg.

So is the gap between Lewis and Jenson really as big as Fry makes it out to be?
If so, what could be the reason?
Is the McLaren car now inherently designed around Lewis and therefore any teammate he has is going to struggle to get it to perform as well?
Alonso didn't seem to have too many problems in 2007 although clearly Heikki Kovalainen last season was way out of his depth.

I guess Jenson's got a few races grace period and then questions will start to be asked.

Full article here: Mercedes' Nick Fry says Jenson Button is well behind Lewis Hamilton
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

I think it's well documented that I'm not Jenson's biggest fan but these comments from Fry smack of "Hall hath no fury like a Mr Bean scorned". I presume he also made a comment that Schumie was "well behind" Rosberg and would have to work hard to catch him up? No? Thought not.

If there is one person (other than Bernie) that F1 needs to see the back of it's Nick ermm Fry. T#sser!
 
Re: Jenson is "well behind" Lewis

I think the simple fact of the matter is that Button isn't as good as Lewis. I think it's as simple as that.

Rubens in nowhere near as good a car, only finished 3 places behind his former team mate. That puts it into a bit more perspective. In both Q1 and Q2 Button was just under 2 tenths faster than Barichello while Hamilton was Just under 5 tenths faster than Button.

I think there is a bit more speed to come from Button as he settles further into the team but then Lewis will find more speed as well so the gap will remain the same.
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

...and while I'm in the mood for a rant if Nick Fry can be the CEO of a multi million pound business then there is hope for us all. I’ll get my CV buffed up and take a wander along to Vodafone, slap a picture of Nick Fry on the desk and say “out of the way Vittorio Colao - if he can, so can I”.

The only other explanation I can come up with is that he has photographs of people in compromising positions. I can think of no other reason how this vacuous, gurning, simpleton has managed to survive in F1 for so long.

Time for my lie down....
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

cider_and_toast said:
I think the simple fact of the matter is that Button isn't as good as Lewis. I think it's as simple as that.
Click to expand

:thumbsup: Button and Hamilton are both single World Champions. However, I feel Button belongs in the company of single World Champions such as Hill [Phil or Damon], Mansell, Villeneuve etc., who exploited a car a mile ahead. Hamilton did not exploit a much better car at any point in 2008 (except arguably in Britain and Germany - where he won the first by a minute and the second despite the team scuppering his strategy), and is a single champion at the age of 25!

Button is likely to be closer to Hamilton than Kovalainen, and further away than Alonso. I'm just not sure who would have expected Button to beat Hamilton.

FB said:
If there is one person (other than Bernie) that F1 needs to see the back of it's Nick ermm Fry. T#sser!
Click to expand

As a team boss, he turned up to the first race of the season in 2007 and was "well behind" his own B-team. So I'm not going to say he's worth to Formula One! And I won't write off JB just yet, but I predict Hamilton victorious.
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

I'm with FB on this one.

In times past i've had more that a couple of moans about Button for one reason or another, but to condemn the man after one race is rather childish.

If by half way through the season lewis is walking all over him then I think its a fair cop, but not yet.

If Fry has some sort of professional beef with him then he should treat it as such, professionally. This telling tales out of school bull$hit is getting tiresome.
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

We should at all cost avoid another knee-jerk reaction. Nick Fry should know better but obviously doesn't, so my knee-jerk reaction would be to label Fry: "Nick the Knee-Jerk Fry".
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

One thing I like about Autosport is that, although they do post the sensationalist headlines like anyone else, they also often post the direct Q&A, so you can read the reporter's question as well as the subject's answer. Fry's comments read as if they're in response to a question like, "Where do you think Button is at the moment?"

That said, I never liked Fry and detested his comments about Button's disloyal defection to McLaren and FB is right. It's a pity the reporter didn't follow-up Fry's comments with, "And where do you think Schumacher is right now?"
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

If you'd have asked me in 2007, 2008, I'd have said Hamilton was the more talented driver. In 2009, I'd have said the same, despite Jenson's WDC. I see no reason to change my opinion this year, but I am all for giving the man a chance to prove himself. Sadly, I think it is a uphill struggle for the current champion...
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

I read that article yesterday and thought it curious that Lewis was a lot quicker in Q1 and Q2 as well as Q3. Which sort of fails to tie in with his theory that a sudden change of wind direction was the difference between them in Q3... :unsure: 

[font=ariel]*	BUTTON			HAMILTON

[color=#00BFFF]1	06:06.000		1	06:21.000

2	[b]01:56.130[/b]		2	01:55.976

P	02:06.791		3	[b]01:55.869[/b]

4	07:25.246		P	02:00.500

5	[b]01:55.715[/b]		5	05:29.989

P	02:03.813		6	[b]01:55.341[/b][/color]

[color=#80BF00]7	08:42.755[/color]	[color=#00BFFF]	P	01:58.746[/color]

[color=#80BF00]8	[b]01:55.478[/b]		8	08:46.734

P	02:02.095		9	[b]01:54.707[/b]

10	07:15.422		P	01:59.696

11	[b]01:55.168[/b]		11	06:42.625[/color]

P	02:14.029		[color=#80BF00]12	[b]01:54.777[/color][/b]

13	09:02.569		P	02:01.613

P	02:07.451		14	07:36.333

15	02:29.191		15	01:56.828

16	[b]01:55.672[/b]		P	01:59.747

			17	02:30.650

			18 	[b]01:55.217[/b]
[/font]
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

So because of 1 corner Jenson changed his whole driving style for the rest of the race?
Did he not think to push it again at that particular corner and see if the problem was gone?

Didn't all the other drivers also have to drive through that change of wind direction?

I'm not bashing Button but this seems like a really lame excuse.
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

I think it was clear from last year that Button needs everything in the car to be almost perfect for him to get the best out of it and Hamilton, to some extent, can drive through such issues. Australia will be an interesting bench mark for the two drives given how well Button went their last year.

Cor, I'm struggling with this - defending Button doesn't come naturally to me but I think every one is over reacting to one race; both with comparing Button & Hamilton and what the rest of the season holds. Alonso won but everyone seems to have forgotten that Vettel was showing him a clean pair of heels until he ran into car trouble. We have 4 teams and 8 drivers who all look like they could win races this season and I think all 8 will win at least one race (yes, even Mark Webber). When was the last time this was a possibility?
 
Re: "Jenson is well behind Lewis"

FB said:
I think every one is over reacting to one race; both with comparing Button & Hamilton and what the rest of the season holds.
Click to expand
I agree.
I originally started the thread to criticise Fry more than anything as it's clear he's got an issue with Button.

However, lame excuses like that do nothing for me.
If he carries on he'll be joining Mark Webber & David Coulthard as a whinger who blames everything except his own ability.

I really hope we can see all the drivers able to put in some fast laps in clean air this season so we can see who's where.

P.S. Nice one snowy, I didn't realise the preserved formatting tag allowed different colours :thumbsup:
 

Similar threads

cider_and_toast
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2 3
Replies
49
Views
5K
F1Brits_90
F1Brits_90
cider_and_toast
Things ... Good things / Bad things - 2023 Bahrain GP
    • Like
Replies
6
Views
1K
landogeorgelewis1
L
cider_and_toast
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2023 Austrian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Red Bull Victory Discussion
    • Haha
3 4
Replies
75
Views
5K
Wombat
W
FB
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2022 Spanish Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2 3
Replies
59
Views
8K
F1Brits_90
F1Brits_90
FB
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2022 Belgian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2 3
Replies
50
Views
5K
FB
FB
Back
Top Bottom