So When Will The Button Critics Shut Up?

[cavallino 2]

Some insight into just why Button is the best wet and changeable weather driver on the grid, from Tony Dodgins..

Both his Melbourne and Shanghai success had their roots in his innate feel for grip with slick tyres on a slippery surface. It's one of the most intangible things to quantify but Button knows it's a strength and exploits it to the full. It was the catalyst of his first GP win in Hungary in '06, with a car that shouldn't have been anywhere near a chequered flag, and there have been many glimpses of it since, even if camouflaged by the sheds he was driving hardly being in the spotlight.

It was only by trawling through lap times on a race history chart in the press room late on a Sunday night that it leapt out at you just how extraordinary some of those performances were.

Glad that someone else noticed what I did, and as I said you have to actually go down to lap times and in depth reports to analyse some of Button's best wet weather performances.

[Kopite Girl 0]

Been saying it for years Cav, falls on deaf ears mate.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Some insight into just why Button is the best wet and changeable weather driver on the grid, from Tony Dodgins..

Glad that someone else noticed what I did, and as I said you have to actually go down to lap times and in depth reports to analyse some of Button's best wet weather performances.

I'm impressed, you moved on... a few years ago you bragged Schumie was the rainmaster while Button struggled in inferior machinery

[Insider 0]

Cav, the Button critics will never shut up, period. Just as the Hamilton bashers will carry on, relentless. Schumi was castigated more and more, as every winning season went by. Such is the nature of forums. Button and Hamilton seemed to have morphed into the Prost and Senna of the new century. Jens is the new 'Fox' on the block. Who is quickest? Does it matter? Check the results. Vettel has been the 'coming man' for two seasons now but I believe he'll need a Ferrari or a Merc to win a WDC. Sure, the Bulls have rocket-power over a single timed lap but they are prone to hiccups, as are their driver team. Rosberg will get there before his countryman, I believe. He is a very fine driver, indeed and he has a master strategist to guide him. Kubica is firmly in the top class now after losing his way at BMW for a couple of years and will be in the 'shake-up' as the season goes along. Alonso is a dangerous predator and could mess up anyone's party. If you were a Team principal, I figure your current shopping list would look something like this:

1. Lewis Hamilton 2. Fernando Alonso 3. Jenson Button 4. Nico Rosberg 5. Sebastien Vettel 6. Robert Kubica

Schumi is clearly not the force he was and I believe a lot of that is partly down to his current status at Mercedes and partly, the inevitable loss of 'hunger'. Haug and Brawn are not going to dump on Rosberg to make MS feel better though - he is their future. The irony of Mercedes's situation is that Heidfeld would probably have banked three times the points by now. As far as Jenson is concerned, he put me through the wringer last year and he's going to do the same this, it seems. I've got £50 on for the double at 66-1. Boy, was I glad I did that.

EDIT: Typo

[BradSpeedMan 6]

I've got £50 on for the double at 66-1. Boy, was I glad I did that.

how much did you get out last year?

[Insider 0]

how much did you get out last year?

Well..........................@£6K. Sorry!

[Kopite Girl 0]

Cav, the Button critics will never shut up, period. Just as the Hamilton bashers will carry on, relentless. Schumi was castigated more and more, as every winning season went by. Such is the nature of forums. Button and Hamilton seemed to have morphed into the Prost and Senna of the new century. Jens is the new 'Fox' on the block. Who is quickest? Does it matter? Check the results. Vettel has been the 'coming man' for two seasons now but I believe he'll need a Ferrari or a Merc to win a WDC. Sure, the Bulls have rocket-power over a single timed lap but they are prone to hiccups, as are their driver team. Rosberg will get there before his countryman, I believe. He is a very fine driver, indeed and he has a master strategist to guide him. Kubica is firmly in the top class now after losing his way at BMW for a couple of years and will be in the 'shake-up' as the season goes along. Alonso is a dangerous predator and could mess up anyone's party. If you were a Team principal, I figure your current shopping list would look something like this:

1. Lewis Hamilton 2. Fernando Alonso 3. Jenson Button 4. Nico Rosberg 5. Sebastien Vettel 6. Robert Kubica

Schumi is clearly not the force he was and I believe a lot of that is partly down to his current status at Mercedes and partly, the inevitable loss of 'hunger'. Haug and Brawn are not going to dump on Rosberg to make MS feel better though - he is their future. The irony of Mercedes's situation is that Heidfeld would probably have banked three times the points by now. As far as Jenson is concerned, he put me through the wringer last year and he's going to do the same this, it seems. I've got £50 on for the double at 66-1. Boy, was I glad I did that.

EDIT: Typo

Agreed one hundred percent.

I was offered same odds, so stuck £30 on. You and I believe dude!

[JHS 1]

I've placed 50 imaginary pounds on Vettel for the title....imaginary because I'm not allowed to bet on F1 yet!

[Pucky the Whale 0]

I've placed 50 imaginary pounds on Vettel for the title....imaginary because I'm not allowed to bet on F1 yet!

Well, had you bet pre-season, I think you would have been glad you can't bet...

WDC : Michael Schumacher

WCC : Ferrari

Race winners : Button, Vettel, Alonso, Schumacher, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, maybe Barrichello and Rosberg too.

Disappointing : Stefan GP if they turn up, Toro Rosso.

Surprising : Closeness of season, Sauber's performance, Michael's good form on return. Virgin and Lotus mixing it with some of the big boys. Occasionally.

Most obvious new paint job : Renault.

Team to moan first : McLaren. Or one of the McLaren drivers.

Meanwhile, I had Vettel for the title since 1 November 2009, which I must admit is not bad considering I didn't have the right drivers on the right teams

Fine. I'll be so right and you'll all be amazed.

World Drivers' Championship

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Fernando Alonso

3. Felipe Massa

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Mark Webber

6. Jenson Button

7. Nico Rosberg

8. Robert Kubica

9. Rubens Barrichello

10. Kamui Kobayashi

11. Adrian Sutil (Macca)

12. Timo Glock (Renault)

13. Heikki Kovalainen (Toyota)

14. Nico H�lkenberg

15. Nick Heidfeld (Sauber)

16. S�bastien Buemi

17. Jaime Alguersuari

18. Christian Klien (Sauber)

19. Vitantonio Liuzzi

20. Vitaly Petrov (Force India)

21. Jarno Trulli (Lotus)

22. Manor1

23. Nelson Piquet, Jr. (Campos)

24. Manor2

25. Bruno Senna

26. Fairuz Fauzy (Lotus)

World Constructors' Championship

1. Scuderia Ferrari

2. Red Bull Racing

3. Brawn Grand Prix

4. McLaren Funtime Team

5. Renault F1

6. Toyota Racing F1

7. Williams F1

8. Qadbak Sauber

9. Scuderia Toro Rosso

10. Forceful India

11. 1Malaysia F1 Team Happy Pals Forever Kitten Huggers

12. All-Virgins Manor Grand Prix

13. Campos Meta Addax Reindeer Elk Moose Stag Barwa Cool Kids F1

[shields 0]

While many drivers would be content after winning the World Championship, Jenson Button moved to McLaren to prove to his critics that he could actually "do it again elsewhere", according to Ross Brawn.

Button's decision to leave Mercedes (then still under the Brawn GP guise) for the Woking team raised quite a few eyebrows, but the 30-year-old has already done a lot to silence those who believe he only won the Championship because his car was far superior than the others on the grid.

The defending Champion is sitting pretty at the top of the Drivers' standings after winning two of the first four grands prix of the season.

Mercedes team boss Brawn says Button wanted to "prove himself at McLaren against guy who is probably the fastest and most naturally talented in motor racing".

"I was disappointed Jenson left," he is quoted in The Sun. "He felt people were of the opinion he only won the World Championship because he had the best car. So he left us to show them he could do it again elsewhere.

"We are still friends. We were on the same flight back from Malaysia and we had a good chat. But on the racetrack it is different. There are no friends on the racetrack.

"Jenson was a fabulous member of our team last year but now he is the history and we have to beat him.

"He also wanted to prove himself at McLaren against the guy who is probably the fastest and most naturally talented in motor racing - Lewis Hamilton. He's set himself a massive challenge and he is doing very well so far."

That is a courageous move, something many multi-WDC tried to avoid at all cost during their entire career...

Really a great Champs thing!

[Argento Reloaded 1]

Cav, the Button critics will never shut up, period. Just as the Hamilton bashers will carry on, relentless. Schumi was castigated more and more, as every winning season went by. Such is the nature of forums. Button and Hamilton seemed to have morphed into the Prost and Senna of the new century. Jens is the new 'Fox' on the block. Who is quickest? Does it matter? Check the results. Vettel has been the 'coming man' for two seasons now but I believe he'll need a Ferrari or a Merc to win a WDC. Sure, the Bulls have rocket-power over a single timed lap but they are prone to hiccups, as are their driver team. Rosberg will get there before his countryman, I believe. He is a very fine driver, indeed and he has a master strategist to guide him. Kubica is firmly in the top class now after losing his way at BMW for a couple of years and will be in the 'shake-up' as the season goes along. Alonso is a dangerous predator and could mess up anyone's party. If you were a Team principal, I figure your current shopping list would look something like this:

1. Lewis Hamilton 2. Fernando Alonso 3. Jenson Button 4. Nico Rosberg 5. Sebastien Vettel 6. Robert Kubica

Schumi is clearly not the force he was and I believe a lot of that is partly down to his current status at Mercedes and partly, the inevitable loss of 'hunger'. Haug and Brawn are not going to dump on Rosberg to make MS feel better though - he is their future. The irony of Mercedes's situation is that Heidfeld would probably have banked three times the points by now. As far as Jenson is concerned, he put me through the wringer last year and he's going to do the same this, it seems. I've got £50 on for the double at 66-1. Boy, was I glad I did that.

EDIT: Typo

My shopping list differs from yours: i rather look to the whole lineup. Fernando+Jenson is a good one ; or Vettel + Nico ; or Kubi + Hamilton. I don´t like hamilton as a team player; he needs a team behind him like MSC in his glory days at Ferrari. If can choose: Alonso + Kubica + Ferrari