Jenson Button—Formula One Legend Or Flop ?

http://jenson-button-news.newslib.com/story/991-3238348/



I want to look at why only Champions and winners are considered to be legends—do you really have to win everything available in your respective sport to be classed as a legend? In fact, do you have to win anything at all?

For me, legends come in many different forms. I don't believe that you have to be a champion to become a legend.

The word legend has been used all too often to describe champions and winners. There are examples of people who I think are legends in their own right who have'nt won a thing. Then there are people who have won things that I consider a legend but person x wouldn't.


Jenson Button—the Legend Who Never Won a Title


I look upon Button as a legend. I may get some stick for this one, but here goes.

When Jenson entered the Formula One circus in the year 2000, everyone was prepared to see the best British F1 driver since Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell. That, however, never materialised, and Button still only has that one career win at the rain-soaked hungarian GP 2006 under his belt after eight years of racing

He has 1 career win.

15 podium finishes.

Three pole positions.

No fastest laps.

And a not-all-that-impressive 232 career points all from 148 F1 races.

That surely is enough to deem him not a legend, right? Wrong!

Button, for me, is a legend because if it would have been me, I'd probably have retired by now and hung my head in shame. But he still turns up, week-in and week-out in a happy, optimistic frame of mind, and is dedicated to taking the Honda F1 team back to the top end of the field where they were two years ago .

We regularly see him in an upbeat mood talking to Louise Goodman after some failure or another thats occured to his car—he is never in a negative frame of mind.

He had offers to drive for other teams that may have given him a chance of a title fight. Rumour had it that it was Mclaren-Mercedes who wanted him before signing Heikki Kovalainen, but he stayed put and is hell-bent on making Honda a force to be reckoned with again .

He could have jumped ship and gone straight to a better performing car and team. Some will wonder why he is so dedicated to his team, because Honda seem to be underachieving massivley. By the time they are back up the top end again, it will be not far off retirement time for Button and his dream of being Formula 1 WDC could all be over.

Some thought that when Traction Control was removed from the cars for the 2008 season that we would see Button shine, that he may have an advantage over other drivers as his right foot is like traction control in itself—he is so smooth on the throttle when exiting corners. That has'nt realy happened either, so it's just a poor car that he has to contend with.

Many people would say that his playboy lifestyle has affected his on-track performances. That cant be true because the "playboy" lifestyle would surely make a human more confident and more eager to impress—I think the case is more a mixture of rotten luck and poor performing cars .

So for his grit , determination, and will to fight even when he knows he probably won't win another race again—let alone a title—is why I consider Jenson Button to be a legend. It can't be easy to accept the position he is in.

The same goes for the rest of the guys at the back of the field. They are legendary the way they turn up and plug away at it, but drivers like Sutil are still young—they have a chance of a move to a bigger team in the future. Button, however, unfortunatly doesn't have a lot of time left.

Maybe I'm crazy and the only one who considers Button to be legendary. In terms of winning, he is NOT legendary, but as I have said already, I don't think you have to be a champion to go down as a living legend. The man has a big heart and he wears it on the bonnet of his Honda all the time.

It would be such a shame to see such a talent disappear into the mire of forgotten drivers, the nearly-but-not-quite-there club, and believe me he is talented—he just never had the cars or opportunities to show us what he is really made of.

Britain's only hope of a WDC now lie solely on the shoulders of Lewis Hamilton. Now don't get me wrong, I like Heikki Kovalainen, but it would have been nice if Button and Hamilton were fighting for the title, both in a Mclaren, two British drivers in the team I support would have been a dream. It's a shame that move didn't happen.

So, Bleacher Creatures, I pose this question to you all: Do you think one has to be a winner and champion to be seen in this light?

What do you all think of Jenson Button's will, grit, and determination? Is he a legend for that? Or is he a Formula 1 flop?

 

Jenson is not legend material. Will his name come up when talking about drivers from his era 20-30 years from now? Probably not.

Gilles Villeneuve is a legendary driver that never won an F-1 title.

 

agree with the above.Jenson is ultra talented and his best case in proving that was 03-04.It's still early to judge.If those punks the Silver Arrows would have picked him up,England would be wacking off to the site of two Brits goin at it.Ill go as far to say that Jenson would be in the hunt,right with Lewis.

 

Jensen can win more races if he drove for Ferrari or Maclaren.

 

Put Jenson in a Ferrari! I would love to see him in the Top 3

 

If you consider him a legend for perserverance, than Fisi, Trulli, Barrichello, Decesaris,etc. are all legends. Not many non-champions are legends. Moss and G. Villeneuve are the only true legends I can think of off hand that weren't champions at the highest level. Patrese had 256 starts with 6(?) wins. Including Monaco. That's closer to legend than Button will ever be.

 

Unfortunately I don't agree with your kind interpretation of Jenson's career. He has perservered, but his is an example of a talented driver who lacked the killer drive to get where he had to to be a winner. Legends don't have careers consisting of bad breaks and unfulfilled potential. A part of what makes someone a champion, and a legend, is placing themselves in the right place to succeed. Schumacher could have languished at Jordan his entire career. Senna at Toleman. I think Jenson is a nice guy who has talent, but nothing more. If he defines "legendary", then the sport is littered with legends from over the years.

 

Major flop. Nowhere close to living up to the hype.

 

Jenson definitely had the talent whe he arrived on the F1 scene. But, a series of bad breaks and bad career decisions left him never living up to his potential. Should have been a legend, but a flop in the end.

 

Only problem about your post, is that it is not my opinion, that is why the link is posted with the articial. I personaly like Jenson Button and feel that his talents have not been displayed correctly. Go Jenson!

 

Legends? Stirling Moss, Chris Amon, Villeneuve Sr, Ronnie Petersen, and others, but NOT JB, sorry.

 

Maybe he would but then most drivers will win driving the most competitive cars. He has shown nothing to Ferrari or Mclaren that make them want to sign him as a driver as there are other drivers out there to sign who have shown more potential whilst driving lesser cars......

For instance, a fledgling Schumacher joined a struggling Benetton and then with them won a world championship.........He joined Ferrari who had been in the doldrums for 20 years or so and look what he helped them achieve ........

The best drivers shine through when driving inferior machinery ........they manage to extract the best from their team......button does not possess or has not shown this skill....

Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly a good driver but he is yet to be tested as he has had a great platform vehicle to perform from ...

Legendary status......Schumacher, Senna , Fangio ........etc

Of the non frequent winners legends could be only a handfull.

 

i won't say Jenson is a legend. he's a good driver yes, but i wonder if he really puts in effort to turn the team around. each time someone knocks him outta a race, when he takes of his helmet, he just looks so relieved not to drive the car for the entire race.

i understand that the car is sh!tty to drive, but time is passing, and if he doesn't step up the next 2 seasons, he'll be forgotten.

 

Jenson Button a great smooth driver I have admired for a long time, I was impressed he had faith in Honda to the extent of buying himself out of his contract from Williams, although in retrospect foolish.

BAR Honda was looking a good bet, until 2006 BAR Honda were fully purchased by Honda and have got steadily got worse, and JB has struggled ever since.

I was hopeful when Ross Brawn joined them, but it's going to take more than that, and more time.
As we head more towards the KERS type development, I would expect Honda to do well, so IMO JB in the next 2 years may very well be in the "last chance saloon" to prove what I believe, he can be a WDC contender.
I wish him all the best in the world I hope he can come good.

Lewis has put him totally in the shade, I'm afraid, and ok he has the car to show his skill, but I can't ever now see LH ever being offered a drive a in a crap car to prove to a few ,what is already plain to see.

 

Flop in any car: Button is no driver. He should hand it up....his only win was by others DNFin the race...and he has the ego to be proud about that then boast he's better than most.....what a fluff ball

 

A touch harsh, well more than a touch, he is a good driver in the wet.

 

Jenson who??? ;-)

 

So am I. But, I'm not a good RACER in the wet........and neither is he.

 

As almost any driver in the grid.

Put any driver on a Ferrari or McLaren and they will be on the top 4

 

Toronto aha..

 

Well thats a matter of opinion, I'm sorry I didn't know you drove in F1, that's what we are talking about isn't it.

 

Firstly, I call BS on that authors mention of some rumor that Mclaren wanted him, but Jenson turned them down. That's the biggest load of crap I've read all day.

Now Obviously Jenson hasn't had a competitive car, accept for maybe the 2004 season. He's obviously quite good, but being outperformed by old man Rubens isn't helping his case right now. I've said it before, but the only thing he can hope for is that Ross pulls something out of his ass, and gets Honda to the front of the grid.

 

+1
Here, we agree. Good post. Although didn't Jenson wiggle out of his contract with Williams thru a loop hole rather than buying himself out of it? That certainly hurt his reputation. To that point, he had impressed most us of by putting the former WDC, Indy 500 and Cart Champion, J.Villenueve on the trailer by out qualifying and out pacing him during the season race after race. I believe that Honda just needs more time and I expect them to be a front runner by 2010. That is, if Button is not too old by then.

 

Neither. I put him in a category of "one and done". He had one good season in '04 where he was in contention for a win. 10 podium finishes that year is incredible. I thought for sure he would get a win that year. With MS winning everything,what are you gonna do?

Jarno Trulli is another "one and done".

I fear Robert Kubica will be a "one and done" also.

Zolt Baumgartner is more of a legend. "Best name ever" award.

 

Other great names: Giovanni Lavaggi, Manfred and Markus Winkelhock, and Ukyo Katayama