Stewart: Jenson Can Be WDC!

[bajo39 0]

Jenson Button can go on to become a multiple race winner and world champion after taking his first Formula One victory in Hungary at the weekend, according to Jackie Stewart.

"Jenson has got the keys to the door now," the Scot, three times a world champion, told the Daily Mail newspaper on Tuesday.

"Even though he may not win the next race, people cannot say that Jenson flopped again...I believe he can go and win many more times if he has got the car.

"Jenson can go on to be world champion. He has the talent to do that."

Button was the first Briton to win a grand prix since David Coulthard in 2003 and the first Englishman since Johnny Herbert in 1999.

Neither Coulthard nor Herbert went on to win the championship. Damon Hill, who took his first victory in Hungary in 1993, remains the last British world champion in 1996.

Hill warned Honda driver Button that he might face a long wait for another success.

"I believe that Honda still has some more work to do before we can regard the team as having consistently winning equipment," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"Jenson's win was very much a wild-card success in unusual circumstances and it's my feeling that when it comes to the next race in Istanbul it will be back to situation normal, with the team reverting to its role as a championship pretender rather than an established front runner."

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Somehow, after a bizzare wet weather race, I remain unconvinced...

[Fed up 0]

"Jenson has got the keys to the door now,"

Pity he hasn't got the keys to the car

[bajo39 0]

Pity he hasn't got the keys to the car

Well he has keys to the wrong car, a bloody Honda of all things! He really needs to be sitting in a better car, any of the big four would do. And even then, he has to pray that he doesn't have a super fast driver alongside him. Because this combination is unlikely, I don't like his chances with respect to the WDC.

[Kay 0]

He's changed his tune.

Loads of people will be praising him now, but don't be fooled these are the same that slagged him off when he hadn't won...

[bajo39 0]

He's changed his tune.

Loads of people will be praising him now, but don't be fooled these are the same that slagged him off when he hadn't won...

Yes, they are all fools. Winning a single race means very little. It's not a mental block or whatever Jackie was on about. I am sure Jenson's driving will remain the same... Perhaps he will be in a better frame of mind not having to deal with the nonsense questions relating to his previous lack of victories but I doubt he let this affect his driving.

[Autumnpuma 0]

One race win does not a Champion make.....

[Kay 0]

Yes, they are all fools. Winning a single race means very little. It's not a mental block or whatever Jackie was on about. I am sure Jenson's driving will remain the same... Perhaps he will be in a better frame of mind not having to deal with the nonsense questions relating to his previous lack of victories but I doubt he let this affect his driving.

I think Button has a good chance of winning the WDC, however I've said previously winning a race won't effect my opinion of Button at all. It's a result and that is it. Probably more helpful to Honda itself than Button, as now they have something to report home about and they won't be under as much pressure from senior management, Nick Fry certainly has avoided being sacked by the tiniest margin now...

And that I feel is a negative side effect of winning.

[UrKo 0]

Button can win WDC only if Honda will make 2 steps forward in next season. Otherwise he'll be on the podium a few times.

He's got talent....now he also needs a competitive car. ( which btw Honda isnt).

[irishfemalefan 0]

i fear Sir Jackie (and many others) may be getting slightly ahead of themselves

admittedly he drove a brilliant race on sunday & im sure he will go on to win a few more races in the future but i really dont think he has the potential or possibility of a WDC winning seat in the future

also no driver who took so many races to get his first win has gone on to win the WDC (fact)

[bajo39 0]

admittedly he drove a brilliant race on sunday & im sure he will go on to win a few more races in the future but i really dont think he has the potential or possibility of a WDC winning seat in the future

No, he won't get a championship-winning drive anytime soon and, even if he did, he'd need a very mediocre team-mate to ensure he was the won who took the top prize.

[dribbler 6]

This sort of patriotic bandwagoning is boring and useless. As usual JYS has another startling revelation.

ANY driver, British or not COULD go on to be WDC but of course it depends on circumstance, luck and the right machine.

This sort of speculative bollocks means nothing.

As Autumnpuma implies, let's see what else Jenson can do first.

[oldbutnotwise 0]

also no driver who took so many races to get his first win has gone on to win the WDC (fact)

I will agree that 1 race doesnt make a wdc however I will point out that in recent times it has become increasing more difficult for a driver to score a win! it always took skill a good car and a bit of luck, however nowadays with the reliabilty of a modern F1 car you have a situation where in a season you have 2-3 top teams that take nearly all the victories with only exceptional races providing an oppotunity for a driver from another team to sneak a win (usually at monaco). so any win is an achievement and should be accepted as well deserved.

when you look at the winners currently in F1 you have

MS - won in the Benetton - as mr ITV brundel was 4th the car was certainly no dog

FA won in the Benetton in a season where it was certainly one of the two best cars on the grid

KR - a mcLaren allways a front runner and a team to be in to win

GF - a jordan - however it must be said that this was a fortunate win as he was well off the pace and was lucky that the race was stopped after all the major runners had pitted for fuel and tires and before he had to and that it finished when it did as 2 more laps and the car would have DNF'ed

JT - a lucky win in monaco and then only just remember JB had a puncture and was still climbing all over him at the finish - but a win it was.

DC - in the all beating williams!

RB - in the all beating Ferrari!

RS - again in the williams

so out of all the winners currently in F1 we have

3 first wins for a Benetton driver

2 first wins for williams

1 each for

Ferrari

McLaren

Jordan

out of all of these only the jordan win and JTs monaco win were by an outsider all the rest were by top teams.

[dribbler 6]

also no driver who took so many races to get his first win has gone on to win the WDC (fact)

Why is that relevant? Is this proof that he won't be WDC? I don't think so. Do you believe in astrology by any chance?

[sevag00 0]

i dont think he's going to become a WDC, look at DC, he has won races more than JV, and he isn't a WDC, it does mean that when you win races you become a WDC.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

i dont think he's going to become a WDC, look at DC, he has won races more than JV, and he isn't a WDC, it does mean that when you win races you become a WDC.

But DC had the car to do it, but didnt manage it. Button hasnt had that yet.

Button is fast and consistent and rarely makes mistakes, so I believe he can be a champion. But f1 is all about having the right equipment. There are a lot of drivers who could be champions given the best car

[Autumnpuma 0]

In my estimation, being a World Champion is more than just driving fast or having a fast car. You need the fortitude to drive without mistakes every race. You need the tenacity to fight for even one point. You need the wisdom to take what points you cannot fight for. And the mechanical sympathy to bring the car home in one piece.

In an old interview in F1Racing magazine, Mika Hakkinen says that mounting a WDC challenge takes everything out of you. It drains you. Clearly there is more effort involved than what it takes to win one race. Jenson, I feel, has the patient temperment to mount such a challenge. He's consistant, fast, and doesn't make mistakes. We all know that with a dependable, fast car, he could become WDC, but the question remains: is Honda that car?

[Jem of the Shire 0]

and the answer is, sadly, probably not!

[bajo39 0]

and the answer is, sadly, probably not!

I don't think so either and although I agree that Jenson has the temperant, patience and the smooth style that equates to "mechanical sympathy" as Autumnpuma so eloquently put it, I don't think he has the outright pace nor the leadership skills to build his team up to the task. Not that I think any driver has the ability to bring Honda, in its current form, a championship. Jenson is a very solid driver but a future WDC he is not.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I dont think any of us, even his fans like me, can comment on his leadership skills, because we dont work with him or at Honda or even personally know anyone at Honda. But the team have nothing but praise for his attitude and dedication so I'm guessing he's a good team player at Honda and has massive respect throughout the team! I doubt alonso has great leadership skills, I think its all about having the speed and consitency, which Schu, Kimi, Alonso and JB all have. I dont buy into this 'mechanical sympathy' stuff, an f1 car is a racing machine and should be designed to be pushed to its limit for 1 and a half hours and not break

[spitfire 0]

Regarding this suggestion from Sir Stewart after one win by Seniore Button I have only this to say.

Wait till he has the right car and has won three or four races before we all fall on the ground fawning please!!!

[bajo39 0]

I dont think any of us, even his fans like me, can comment on his leadership skills, because we dont work with him or at Honda or even personally know anyone at Honda. But the team have nothing but praise for his attitude and dedication so I'm guessing he's a good team player at Honda and has massive respect throughout the team! I doubt alonso has great leadership skills, I think its all about having the speed and consitency, which Schu, Kimi, Alonso and JB all have. I dont buy into this 'mechanical sympathy' stuff, an f1 car is a racing machine and should be designed to be pushed to its limit for 1 and a half hours and not break

The team are desperate to hold onto Jenson because he's the best driver they can get and they're not exactly know for their modesty - no surprise then that it's all praise for Jenson. However, my sense is that Jenson is too much of a nice guy to be a real leader. I understand that Nick Fry has been working on this deficiency, encouraging Jenson to get angry and so on.

[Autumnpuma 0]

I dont think any of us, even his fans like me, can comment on his leadership skills, because we dont work with him or at Honda or even personally know anyone at Honda. But the team have nothing but praise for his attitude and dedication so I'm guessing he's a good team player at Honda and has massive respect throughout the team! I doubt alonso has great leadership skills, I think its all about having the speed and consitency, which Schu, Kimi, Alonso and JB all have. I dont buy into this 'mechanical sympathy' stuff, an f1 car is a racing machine and should be designed to be pushed to its limit for 1 and a half hours and not break

We live in a world of 'is', not 'should be'. I agree that all machinery should be built to never break, but, alas, in the real world we all know machinery breaks. We can argue about the reasons, but it's a known fact that if you are hard on a piece of machinery, it has a greater chance of breaking.

The term 'mechanical sympathy' is, among other things, a racing term describing how hard (or easy) a driver is on his car. It also describes how sensitive a driver is at noticing when something is wrong on his car. Jimmy Clark had 'mechanical sympathy' in spades, to bring up one example. He could feel exactly what his car was doing at all times and drove accordingly. Denying 'mechanical sympathy' is like denying that a car needs tires.

Now all that being said, Jenson is easy on his machinery in my estimation.

[sevag00 0]

But DC had the car to do it, but didnt manage it. Button hasnt had that yet.

Button is fast and consistent and rarely makes mistakes, so I believe he can be a champion. But f1 is all about having the right equipment. There are a lot of drivers who could be champions given the best car

Button has a great car too, because he doesn't do much takeovers, instead he gets takeovered by others, that is why he doesn't win. You cant judge him, that he is a great driver, since he won the Hungary gp what happened in Hungary doesn't prove anything, look what Alonso did, he went out, you cant say he is a bad driver.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Button has a great car too, because he doesn't do much takeovers, instead he gets takeovered by others, that is why he doesn't win. You cant judge him, that he is a great driver, since he won the Hungary gp what happened in Hungary doesn't prove anything, look what Alonso did, he went out, you cant say he is a bad driver.

I dont really know what you're talking about to be honest

[bajo39 0]

I dont really know what you're talking about to be honest

He's reiterating the widely held criticism that Button is quite weak when it comes to passing and defending passes.