Absolutely not imo. If he goes to McLaren, he'll get handily beaten by LH, ie. no chance at the title given an equal car. There's no question about this. If he's stays at Brawn, there's at least a possibility that the car will be at the front again and he'll have an edge. Especially considering how early they shifted focus during this season, Brawn's leadership, the evident engineering talent already present; and we already know they have among the best resources from the Honda days, and now most likely have the funding not only from MB but the multitude of sponsors they would have undoubtedly picked up.
Brawn isn't going to be at the front again - no way. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. They had Honda cancelling R&D on the 08 car to favor the 09, they had a HUGE budget, they had a favorable rules situation that basically gave them a major advantage. That was a perfect storm and it will never happen again. Also, Rubens isn't the teammate that Rosberg will be. Button is going to have a MUCH harder time. And there is just no way the Brawn car is even "in for a chance" at the championship next year. Won't happen. McLaren and Ferrari can, however, be counted on to always be at the front year after year, for the most part. Button is an excellent driver. I do think he would be beaten by Lewis without a doubt, but he will get equal equipment and opportunity, and he will probably have a drive at McLaren making a lot of money for pretty much as long as he likes. And after that, if he wants, he can go down the pecking order and drive for other teams. He can choose to continue his career with an equal opportunity in one of the top 2 teams against a driver who is probably faster but where he can show what he's got and make lots of money. Or he can choose to continue with a one-hit-wonder team who won't be challenging for wins, where he will also get an equal opportunity against a driver who is probably faster and make a relatively low amount of money. It's a no brainer. McLaren is the clear choice.
Mike, BrawnGP will still be a force, I'm sure you will make me eat the crow otherwise.. JB is better where he is M Benz is set to invest in Ross B big time that's what I'm lead to believe anyway..
Regardless of teammates, you go with the best car. Like Mike said, it's unlikely Brawn will reproduce their early season dominance next season. They clearly jumped the field in '09, but during the second half their results were significantly worse while RBR & McLaren came on strong and Ferrari publicly chose to focus full efforts on 2010. While it's theoretically possible that Brawn will somehow repeat its performance next season, it isn't as probable as with other teams. Button has nothing to gain professionally by being the fastest driver on a second-tier team. He has already won a Title, and if he wants another he should take the seat with the best chance, which is McLaren. Head to head, Lewis would probably beat him. But I think the odds of serendipity smiling on Button in 2010 are greater driving a McLaren than a Brawn.
No way, I agree with Mike on this one. Brawn GP goes mid-pack next season right fighting for p7-p8 with Renault & Williams. They haven't had the budget for a while now, and lack the man-power since the lay-offs. It'll be the usual suspects at the front: Ferrari, McLaren, Redbull... Unless of course, MB buys Brawn to be their factory works team. Even then, it would a tough job getting their aero development back on par with the top funded teams.
Dismiss Ross Brawn at your own peril. The smart money would have to go with McLaren but Ross is no one shot wonder.
I near as damn it always think Mike is on the money, However I'am going out on a limb with this, but IF Benz, and like you just have given yourself a get out clause get behind Ross I can't see them falling below mid pack I still think they will be getting podiums. It was me that stated to much ridicule on here that BrawnGP would be getting podiums before they started racing this year.... well we know what happened. +100 What the man said..^
If Button had won any of his races towards the end of the season he'd be in much better shape to call his own shots. Gotta love what Brawn was able to do this year but in the end if Button can go to the Merc team he'd be better off.
Guess so... this will have to be one of those things history will decide I guess. If Button stays at Brawn and beats Nico and the Brawn car is good, he will look like a genius. If he passes on the McLaren deal, and the Brawn sucks, but the McLaren is good, then he looks like a fool. It's probably very hard for him to make his decision now, without knowing many more details. We shall see
That is true, However, Rory Byrne isn't to be dismissed either, but remember Ferrari in 2005... or 2008, or 2009. And Adrian Newey isn't to be dismissed, but he was at Red Bull from 2006 and it was only this year they became able to really win races (despite having one of the best drivers). Same can be said for a few other well known names. But these names need the funding to be able to make cars that can win. Brawn is one of the best, if not the best, in his area. But it's a challenge for him to compete with the aforementioned guys and their massively funded organizations (as well as McLaren and Renault) even if they were on level financial ground. But hundreds of millions behind? I'm not sure even Ross Brawn can fill that order. Only 16 weeks until we find out for sure!
16 weeks wow!! I never eaten crow, does it taste like turkey..I'll be getting my fill of that. Remember "You can have the world's best race driver in the world's best race car and not have a winning combination. There has to be chemistry, and that's something even science cannot explain." Mario Andretti
Some are saying that he has Mercedes money behind him. If so the playing field may be more level than it appears.
you're very astute, what are you doing here ?? you get mostly rhetoric from the google crowd who can't think for themselves or parochial swill from the Dilluminati
Thank you, and momentarily escaping from the rigours of science. Oh, I'm sure it's not quite that bad. All the best, Andrew.
Autosport is already reporting that the MB is most likely going to increase their stake in the team to 75%. Since they probably have the most reliable reporting out there, we really should be expecting a front-running car. One more thing to consider is that hardly any ad space was taken up on the car this season. A team under foreseeable pressure isn't that relaxed. And I've read more than a handful times, quotes of Ross saying they're financially sound for at least the next 2-3 years. As you said, let's see.
I'm betting both Brawn and McLaren will be strong next year. So for Jensen he gets a top car either way. But what about Brawn? Nico Rosberg and some back marker? Jensen could really be an asset to them next year. He knows the team well and has the boost in confidence from his WDC. Most of all, the refueling ban could really put him in a strong position. He's extremely easy on his tires which hindered him this year with tire temperature. But next year that could mean less/no pitstops. Or at least a much healthier tire in the closing laps, allowing him to pass at will. Maybe Ross should loosen the purse strings a little and get him to stay...
I think Button could easily be replaced with any other mid to upper-mid fielder. Big whoop. The challenge for Brawn will be pulling out another miracle to make his car superior for the first 7 races.
