Poor Button. Could indeed be a very long season for him... Hamilton +22.182 Button +45.280 23 seconds off the pace of his teammate under race conditions. If this performance deficit continues into the next several races, poor Button could be in for a beating. Button has to hope that it is just a fluke, although deep down I think his self-confidence on taking on Hamilton may have gone down a notch or two... Many of us here thought he was stepping into the lion's den and the first race indeed gave that appearance. It is too early to say for sure, it is only the first race and there are many to go...but the pundits will surely be saying "told you so". Thoughts? Frank
Sorry for forgetting to put the **SPOILER** alert in the title. Thanks mod for taking care of that for me. Frank
I was surprised no one had created a thread yet xD Let's wait how he does next races, a bad w.end can happen to everybody. (I never thought of Button as a top driver and i think he is going to be baddly destroyed by Hamilton)
I said it before the season started and I'm happy to repeat it: This season will clearly separate the #1 from the #2 drivers. WDC or not, Button is the clear #2 to Hami. Button lucked out last year to sit in the right car and to make the most of it. He is a good driver, but not on the Vettel/Alonso/Hamilton level.
I think Button was taking it too easy on his tires as well. Perhaps the car is not *right* for him although it is too soon to tell.
I know I'm going to upset a lot of Button fans but... today just shows how good the Brawn car was last year.
Wait a minute guys... before we eviscerate the guy. He is known to be easy on his tires, a very smooth driver. And IIRC, he was on a one-stop strategy this race, whereas others were on multi-stop strategies? I think it just didn't work out for him. I think they were counting on his smoothness to let him be quick over a race distance and provide speed as well as low tire wear. And I don't think it worked out. I also think he was hung up in traffic for the vast majority of the race, and since tire conservation is so important this year (especially for him, being on a one-stopper), he did what the team suggested and settled in for the cruise home, rather than trying to push for passes. Meanwhile Hamilton was trying to get Vettel/Massa and was pushing. I don't think the 23 second difference is indicative of their respective talents - I think it is largely a function of how they each ran their race.
I'd say it's too early in the season to tell if this is true or not, but we're comparing Hamilton to Button which means I don't think we need to wait. Button will spend most of this season behind Hamilton and should, for any reason, the McLaren slow down I think Button will slow down a LOT more than Hamilton. He's in a good spot as a #2 driver. He'd be smart to try to finish off there if at all possible as he's never going to get a chance like he did at Brawn ever again IMO. He's a good driver and a very smooth one, but he's not Hamilton nor will he ever be Hamilton.
All the top10 guys were on a one stop strategy. Actually i don't think anyone has stoped more than once.
+1. As any racer knows, it's the car... Last year, Alonso was nowhere in the Renault, this year, put him in a Ferrari, he's standing on top of the podium. Last year, Button was standing on top of the podium, this year he's nowhere. If you don't have the car it's not going to happen for you, if you do, you're in with a shout. At the F1 level, the drivers are so polished and at a consistently high level at the edge of the performance envelope, that there is no way you are going to compete with them in a substandard car under dry normal track conditions. The only meaningful comparison of drivers you can make is between teammates. Only after cross-referencing both teammates performance vs. previous teammates can you get a clear picture of their true talent level. Frank
after 1 race it's simply too early to draw conculsions, but I'm a hamilton fan so I'm hoping he can continue to put a beating on button.
Total time is not "the pace" -- lap time is. So Button is about .5s off the pace [of Hamilton]. Pretty good for race 1, quite a bit better than I had expected. I favor Hami though so my guess is that Hami improves while Button stagnates or even drops off a bit.
Oops! My mistake... Looks like I was screwed by a Vasha-ism. I fast forwarded through much of the race, and stopped when I saw the radio transmission graphic - it was Button's engineer telling him that if he couldn't make the pass, to back off and conserve the tires because they needed them to last the race. Varsha exclaimed "Oh! And it looks like Button is going to do a one-stopper!!!". Burned by Varsha again
To early to tell, it is no surprise to me LH was faster but lets face it: LH awesome driver probably the best out there with Alonso, in a team he has been with from year dot. Cut Button some slack give him a chance before patting yourselves on the backs.
I don't, Hamilton did take third and placed 4 for spots higher than Button. You also can't blame it on Button not being used to the car if you take Alonso performance into consideration. Button has been shaded since the first practice session, qualifying, and now the first race. IMO this will continue through out the season! Jenson simply isn't the great .... hope you were wishing for.... Regards,
Button is a slightly more consistent Webber, nothing more nothing less. He is though a heck of a lot luckier. He should retire as WDC now ... Pete
It's the truth. I don't mind saying the truth, offensive or not. Button is a 2nd tier driver, which is commendable at the pinnacle of motorsport, but still not the top.
