Jenson Button, Formula One world champion

How many people have dreamt that their name replaces Jenson's? Millions I reckon, me included.

Who wouldnt want to be formula one world champion, the man who is a better racer than you, a better driver, the man who can drive a car faster than you. THE FASTEST RACE DRIVER IN THE WORLD!

But is that all there is too it?

Well depending on your stance on formula one, the answer is yes, or no.

My answer is no. Formula One is a team game, gone are the days when you could turn up and race your own car and even they those who did, didnt win.

Today you need a team around you, but brilliantly, the driver still counts.

Jenson and Rubens had the same car all year long, yet the difference in points was 18 points, in the same car thats a horrendous difference.

Sebastian Vettel gained more points than Rubens, but not Jenson, yet Rubens and jenson had the same car. So the difference was the driver.end of.

From March 2009 to November 2009 Jenson Button drove the best races any driver probably drove in any competition throughout the world, and deserves to be formula one world champion.

HOWEVER!

Sadly I dont think JB will ever be thought of in the same league as fellow world champs, mansell, hamilton,hunt and many overs. Why?

You tell me a Jenson button memory from before 2009. You tell me something he did that made you smile, that made you proud to be a formula one fan, or a british formula one fan.

It is not necessarily Button's fault, but formula one is a show, and the whole point of formula one is the fans.

Those who care, and those who really love formula one, want certain things from a driver, they want drama (mansell) they want action (Gilles Villeneuve) they want never say die (Hamilton) and they want charisma and attitude (Hunt).

Where is Button going to fit in any of this?

Nowhere, he has no win or lose attitude, no never say die charisma, yes his overtakes this season were quite frankly sublime and brilliant, but the media never promoted these in the same way they promoted Hamilton or Mansell. Why? Because Jenson has never been the typical british driver, the underdog, the struggler.

He was always the guy who was alright but often in a crap car, and when he got a great car, people didnt know how to take it and understand it and just assumed it was the car. That was the mainstream interpretation. Yet sadly, only those who looked deeper will see how good Jenson really is, so accurate, so precise, so in touch with the feelings of the car.

But does Button capture the general publics imagination and hearts like Mansell and Hamilton? Has Button ever loved and lost? Has he ever had the world title in his grasp? Only to lose it in the cruellest fashion one can imagine? No.

Britain takes pride in the underdog, the man who nearly made it, not the multi world champion. Hamilton, Mansell, Hunt, Graham and Damon Hill, embodied the british spirit, try try and try again, and eventually, you will succeed.

I feel here it is important to mention Stirling Moss and David Coulthard, two men who were just too gentlemanly to become world champions, despite possessin the ability.

But for Button many will feel it has been given to him by the simple fact that Brawn ran a car engineered, designed and developed by a Honda squad who pumped some £300million into the car.

So in ten or twenty years from now, when people reminisce this period of formula one racing. Who will they think higher of? Hamilton? or Button?

Feel free to contribute your own answer, but my answer has been driving a mclaren all his life and I suspect will do so for the rest of his career.

Thanks for reading.

Rich Marsh

Driver Review of the Year

Simple really. Mark out of ten, then brief plus points and negative points.

1- Jensen Button -Brawn GP World Champion 94 points.6 Wins,9 total podiums. 9/10

Uttertly brilliant first 7 races, simply impeccable. Damage limitation trough the summer thanks to consistant race pace and excellent overtakes throughout the year. Brilliant drive in Brazil. Easily man of the year.

2- Lewis Hamilton - Mclaren Mercedes 5th place. 49 points. 2 wins,5 total podiums. 8/10

Drove better than in 2008. Involved in team lie-gate scandal. Not all his fault. Got his head down and just drove the car faster than anyone else could. Never say die attitude, very evident in Monza. Destroyed Heikki Kovalainen's career.

3- Nico Rosberg - Williams Toyota, 6th place. 34.5 points. Best finish 4th 8/10

Superb season from the German. Only one main error in Singapore which cost certain podium. Fast througout the season. Suffered horribly on option tyres in Australia and on wet tryes in Malaysia which also cost podiums. Very unlucky not to have a podium. Deserves better next year.

4- Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 2nd Place, 84points, 4 wins 8 total podiums 8/10

This guy is brilliant. Super fast and the best qualifyer of the season. Only man other than Button to win more than twice. Brilliant in the rain. Inexperienced though and mistakes cost him title, lost podium in Melbourne with crash and points in Monaco with a crash.

5- Mark Webber - Red Bull Renault - 4th Place,69.5 points, 2 wins, 8 total podiums

Best season yet from the Aussie, most dominant win of anyone in Germany. Brilliant recovery from leg break in november. A few qualy issues saw him get beaten too often by Vettel but has better racecraft and race pace overall.

6- Rubens Barrichello - Brawn GP 3rd Place, 77points, 2 wins, 6 total podiums 7.5/10

A great comeback season littered with too many problems. Rubens is far too sensitive a driver, particularly with brakes and clutch controls. Bad starts in Melbourne, Turkey and Spa cost big points. Could not beat Button often enough. Good on his day, doesnt have enough days.

7- Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari, 6th Place, 48 points, 1 win,5 total podiums. 7/10

Always an enigma, took a while to get to grips with Ferrari. Excellent in aftermath of Massa's accident. Just drove the thing to four podiums including win at his favourite spa circuit. Did what he could when team stopped development.

8- Felipe Massa, Ferrari,11th Place, 22points, (Started 10 races)1podium (3rd). 7/10

Up untill his accident he destroyed Raikkonen 22 points to ten. But then the horror accident in Hungary ended his season and Raikkonen picked up a gear. Got the most out of Ferrari untill his crash and should be as good as ever next year.

9- Fernando Alonso - Renault, 9th Place, 26points, 1 podium (3rd) 7/10

Fernando got what few people could out of the 2009 Renault. 26 points, and a podium. It was slow, inconsistent, unreliable and tricky to set up. His podium in Singapore was more about the driver than the car. Maybe not Alonso's finest season but still one of the best drivers in the field. Did well to get points early in the season.

10- Sebastien Buemi, Torro Rosso, 16th Place, 6 points. 0 podiums. 7/10

Excellent debut season from the Rookie. Often kept out of trouble and scored points in 2 of first 3 races. Awesome in China to qualify in top 10 and finish in 8th. Rounded off season with strong trouble free drives to points in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

11 - Jarno Trulli - Toyota 8th Place, 32.5 points, 3 podiums. 6.5/10

A difficult year for Jarno, he and the car were inconsistent. Failed to take advantage of the car's speed early in the year. And surely should have won in Bahrain but for a poor tyre choice by the team. Really struggled to get the car to work each weekend. Car was as good if not better than 2008 and yet scored fewer points.

12- Nick Heidfeld - BMW - 13th place, 19 points, 1 podium 6.5/10

Tough times for Nick. For most of the season the car was terrible, and only an excellent tyre decision in Malaysia gave him a lucky 7th place. Nevertheless, got more out of the car than Kubica did. Excellent again at strong race performances, bringing the car home at miminum where it should be.

13- Adrian Sutil - Force India Mercedes - 17th place, 5 points, Best finish 4th. 6.5/10

Mr Unlucky of 2009. So often when things were going well they would go wrong. In China he dropped it on a drying track on wet tyres when in 6th place. In spa he was on Fisichella's pace but failed to get through q2. In Germany he was on for at least top 7 when he collided with Raikkonen. Got his first deserved points in Monza with 4th. Excellent qualy in Japan and Brazil ruined by a steward penalty and Jarno Trulli.
So much better than results suggests. Gotta keep out of trouble.

14- Robert Kubica, BMW 14th place, 17points. 1 podium. 6.5/10

After publicly saying he wated BMW to continue development on their 08 car last year when in the title hunt, he would not have been impressed to see that the 09 car was crap. Excellent in Australia untill crash with Vettel. Good in qualy in Malaysia and fantastic in Brazil. Heidfeld got more out of the car more often. Will hope to form Alonso-esque bond with Renault.

15- Timo Glock, Toyota 10th Place, 24 points, (Started 14 races) 6.5/10

Failed to build on promising 2008. Again strong in the race but needs to start higher up to make it count. Did not get as much out of the car as Trulli and again struggled with car's inconsistancy. Big failure in Barain. Injured in crash in Suzuka after lucky podium in Singapore.

16- Giancarlo Fisichella, 15th place, 8 points, 1 podium, 12 races- Force India, 5 races-Ferrari. 6/10

Often out performed by Sutil at Force India. Flash of speed in Monaco for 9th place finish. Was fantastic at Spa, pole and should of have the win. Struggled to adapt to Ferrari but did a reasonable job.

17- Heikki Kovalainen,Mclaren Mercedes 12th place, 22points. 0 Podiums 6/10

Very poor season from Heikki and he will be lucky to be at Mclaren next year. Could not get near Hamilton all year. Too many errors, too inconsistent. Often went backwards at start of races.

18- Vitantonio Liuzzi,Force India Mercedes 22nd 0points best finish 11th. 5 Races, 0 podiums 6/10

Bought in to replace Fisichella who joined Ferrari. Excellent at Monza and oncourse for points untill retirement. Struggled at Singapore and Japan, better at Brazil and beat Sutil in Ahu Dhabi. Could well be kept on in 2010.

19- Kamui Kobayashi,Toyota 18th Place, 3 points, 2 races. 0 podiums, 6/10

2 races to showcase his talents, and he did just that. Very impressive, if abit wayward defending in Brazil, and pace was not bad. Excellent in Abu Dhabi to finish ahead of Trulli while on a one stop strategy. Likely to be kept on in 2010.

20- Kazuki Nakajima, Williams Toyota. 20th Place 0 points, best finish 9th. 5/10

2009 showed his limitations. Points last year came in high attrition races. Should of had points in Turkey. 5th on grid in Silverstone but not fast enough and finished 9th. Quick at times, but nowhere near quick consistently enough. Destroyed by Rosberg.

21- N.Piquet Jnr, Renault, 21st place, 0points, 10 races. Best finish 10th. 5/10

Struggled with rubbish Renault and Alonso's ability to get points. Could not find the pace of Alonso at all. High pressure at Renault maybe not for him. Reputation ruined by Crash-gate.

22- Sebastian Bourdais, Torro Rosso Ferrari, 2 Points, 9 races. 5/10

Showed flashes of pace in 2008, but easily beaten by rookie Buemi and complained too often. Couldn't get his head down and just focus.

23- Luca Badoer - Ferrari, 25th place, 0 points, 2 races. 4.5/10

Thrown in at the deep end after Michael Schumacher's withdrawal to replace Massa. Did an ok job but really needed to go find the limit a lot more. Too conservative.

24- Jamie Algasuari - Torro Rosso- 24th place. 0 points. 8 Races. 4.5/10

Not a bad start. Often kept it out of trouble. Slowly learning the ropes but was quite far off Buemi's pace. Needs to improve.

25- Roman Grosjean - Renault, 23rd Place, 0 points, 7 races. 4.5/10.

Arguably worse than Piquet. He was just as slow. Spun more often and spent much more time going backwards through the field. Piquet was far more competitive. Really struggled with f1.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Review

Quite a spectacle Abu Dhabi, it looked fantastic and the people who were there say it was fantastic.

The worst thing about it was the race itself, aside from the start and the end it was rather dull.

Hamilton had qualified on pole after a sensational lap that saw him over 6tenths up on the rest of the field and just on lap shorter than the Red Bull's. It was one of the lap's of the year quite simply.

So at the start we had a brilliantly set up and close tactical fight between Hamilton,Vettel and Webber with Button lurking just behind. Barrichello, in 5th was strugglin after whacking Webber's right rear at the first corner, damagin the Brawn front wing and thus causing him considerable understeer all race. Webber got away undamaged.

Ruben's had begun the year smacking into Webber at Turn one in Melbourne, and ended it by smacking into Webber at Turn One in Abu DHabi. Now think how many people did Button run into and yo get a sense of the difference between the two drivers and why one won the championship and 6 races, and the other won 2 races and finished 3rd.

Button and Ruben's pitted first, followed by Hamilton, Webber and Vettel, Vettel's longer stint saw him emerge clear in front of Hamilton and a battle Royal for the final race of the year was set.

But it never materialised. Hamilton's Mclaren suffered a right rear brake problem and with two stops from 200mph down to less than 100, leaving him out on the track was a risk nobody was going to take.

Hamilton pulled into the pits and into the garage and every viewer's race was over.

Vettel cruised to the win, while behind him, Button encountered new friend Kobayashi after pitting for his first stop, with Button coming off worse as he outbraked himself at the end of the first long straight. But as world champion, Button didn't care, the gloves were off and it was time to enjoy racing again.

And he certainly did enjoy it, as Mark Webber began to struggle on the option tyre with still 15 laps to go, Button started reeling the Aussie in, after Button made his second stop with 13 laps to go. Webber was in sight. Vettel was gone and in a race of his on, but Webber was there for the taking.

Half a second, sometimes more, lap after lap, and with 4 laps to go he was almost on the Red Bull's rear wing. On the final lap, battle had begun. Webber was really struggling to slow the car down in the big braking zones, squirming and twitching almost every time. Button knew he would get past if he had a chance.

That chance came along the first straight on the final lap, Webber took the inside line, the dusty line on poor tyres. Button had the outside, cleaner line.

Thundering down to turn 7, Webber somehow, miraculously held his car in a straight line and it was Button who got out of shape, just as he had against Kobayashi.

But it wasn't over yet,Button got a better drive out of the chicane and was alongside Webber again on the second straight, but again Webber made the world champ choose, go round the outside where its cleaner, or go inside where it is dirty.

Button went on the outside and heading to the braking zone was a considerable margin ahead. Maybe he could of come across and squeezed Webber slghtly, but Button stuck to his line and held it for the next chicane, but incredibly, so had Webber.

But coming out of the chicane Webber was struggling once more and Button got alongside. They disappeared behind an advertising board,side by side.

Webber emerged first, had Button backed out or had Webber outbraked him? A bit of both I suspect.

For the rest of the lap Btton could do no more and finished just half a second behind Webber.

It had been a fantastic last lap from both men. Button showing us just how much of a racer he really is.

Their smiles, body languages and interviews after the race showed how much both men had enjoyed the fight.

Vettel meantime, said his car was a pleasure to drive and that he was sad to see the season end, and he isnt the only one.

Behind the top 3, Barrichello and Heidfeld had quiet drives to 4th and 5th, Heidfeld overtaking team mate Kubica in the championsip.

Kobayashi drove a storming one stop race to finish ahead of team mate Trulli who had started in the top 8! The japanese driver has surely bagged himself a seat at the japanese team.

The final point went to Buemi, another quiet, but very strong drive to round off his year.

Rosberg, Raikkonen, Kubica, Alonso, Nakajima and probably Kovalainen and Grosjean, said goodbye to their respective teams on a very low key note,all struggling throughout the race.

The only drive of note outside of the points was Tonio Liuzzi, who comfortably got the better of Sutil.

So, that was 2009, quite a season for both good and bad reasons, but all in all a success!

Bring on Bahrain!



1. VETTEL Red Bull
2. WEBBER Red Bull +17.8s
3. BUTTON Brawn +18.4s
4. BARRICHELLO Brawn +22.7s
5. HEIDFELD BMW +26.2s
6. KOBAYASHI Toyota +28.3s
7. TRULLI Toyota +34.3s
8. BUEMI Toro Rosso +41.2s

9. ROSBERG Williams +45.9s
10. KUBICA BMW +48.1s
11. KOVALAINEN McLaren +52.7s
12. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +54.3s
13. NAKAJIMA Williams +59.8s
14. ALONSO Renault +69.6s
15. LIUZZI Force India +94.4s
16. FISICHELLA Ferrari +1 lap
17. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
18. GROSJEAN Renault +1 lap

19. HAMILTON McLaren +35 laps
20. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +37 laps


1. Jenson Button Brawn GP 95
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 84
3. Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 77
4. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 69.5
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 49
6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 48
7. Nico Rosberg Williams 34.5
8. Jarno Trulli Toyota 32.5
9. Fernando Alonso Renault 26
10. Timo Glock Toyota 24
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 22
12. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 22
13. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 19
14. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 17
15. Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari & Force India 8
16. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 6
17. Adrian Sutil Force India 5
18. Kamui Kobayashi Toyota 3
19. Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 2

1. Brawn GP 172
2. Red Bull Racing 153.5
3. McLaren Mercedes 71
4. Ferrari 70
5. Toyota 59.5
6. BMW Sauber 36
7. Williams 34.5
8. Renault 26
9. Force India 13
10. Scuderia Toro Rosso 8