Max Mosley 2 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Our Jense has had an extremely strong end of season. Here's how the championship would look if it had started in Germany six races ago back on July 30th. MS=37 points JB=34 FA=30 FM=28 GF=23 KR=18 PDLR=16 RB=12 This shows how good a job PDLR has done on his return and how well Jenson is driving right now. Hopefully this bodes well for next season. Lets assess Jense's driving by comparison with Rubens, a well known benchmark. Below I give Rubens' points score for each of the last 5 seasons as a percentage of his teammate for that season's score. 2006 56% (Excluding final race atm, clearly, but note: there is no reason to expect this to increase the percentage shown. It is equally likely to go down.) 2005 61% 2004 77% 2003 70% 2002 60% (Recalculated using new points system for fair comparison.) So we see that JB's performance would appear to be roughly comparable to MS over the last few seasons. The first bit of analysis shows that this can not be put down to Rubens "settling in" as his performance was much better earlier. (For the last six races the percentage is only 35%) Also MS probably benefited from Ferrari's focus on him, at least towards the end of the season. (If we let Rubens win Austria '02 alone his score would be 62% for that season.) We can do the Totalf1 way too and count their record head to head in races they both finished (RB:teammate): 2006 2:9 2005 2:10 2004 3:13 2003 4:7 2002 4:8 Thus Schumi was ahead, averaged over their last 4 seasons together, 66% of the time, whereas so far Button has been ahead 78% of the time. All in all a rather impressive performance from the young Brit. I doubt it will change all that much. Again Rubens was stronger earlier: excluding the first 3 races it would read 1:7. JPM failed to improve much during his second season at McLaren. JV improved most in the first few races at Sauber. I suspect JB will continue to beat the seasoned Brazilian. Jenson is looking good for next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ecapdeville 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Jenson is looking good for next year. How many times have I heard this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 How many times have I heard this? I heard that in the preseasons for the 2005 and 2006 championships. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ecapdeville 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I heard that in the preseasons for the 2005 and 2006 championships. add another one my friend... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Autumnpuma 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Good job, Murray. One fact makes me think Jenson is quick enough to fly with the big boys: He outpaced Alesi in his first few F1 tests. That's all the statistic I need! Now a question: I firmly believe a consistant pace and result, over the whole season, marks out a potential champion as much as beating his teammate. How does Jens do in that regard? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cavallino 2 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 You support him because he's British? Oh the irony On topic, I still don't think Jenson is a good enough racer to be a champion yet, he doesn't push his car hard enough and he is a bit of a pushover when it comes to on track overtaking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Autumnpuma 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 On topic, I still don't think Jenson is a good enough racer to be a champion yet, he doesn't push his car hard enough and he is a bit of a pushover when it comes to on track overtaking. Good point. Let's imagine Button in the same position as either Michael or Alonso. Would Button have the sheer tenacity of Michael to keep fighting for each point? Would Button have the presence of mind to control people behind him during a race like Alonso has done to Michael? Statistics and percentages don't really answer those questions. I'm not sure what would answer them.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dribbler 6 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I heard that in the preseasons for the 2005 and 2006 championships. Yeah, it's starting to sound like the predictions DC used to make every year. Nice stats Murray. I'm not sure what would answer them.... I reckon he needs to have a fight with someone, a real good punch up. We haven't seen a driver lose it and slap someone hard for years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dollar$ 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 well, we'll just have to wait & see next year how well he does. My prediction is that when he has a bad race/races you'll hear Jenson moaning like a little schoolgirl once again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pabloh20 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Good point. Let's imagine Button in the same position as either Michael or Alonso. Would Button have the sheer tenacity of Michael to keep fighting for each point? Would Button have the presence of mind to control people behind him during a race like Alonso has done to Michael? Statistics and percentages don't really answer those questions. I'm not sure what would answer them.... While I agree with what you're saying, Autumnpuma, it doesn't seem that difficult to keep F1 cars behind you these days, I mean the backmarkers seem to do it with ease!! Being serious, though, it seems more a question of concentration & not making a mistake, rather than really having to battle to keep a car behind these days. I agree that Button has a lot to prove yet. He seems quick enough, able to overtake, adapts well to changing conditions, but still so many unanswered questions. Hopefully, he will have the chance to answer them soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jenson_Rules 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Wonderful analysis there Murray. I must add however that Jenson is still lacking in one area, defence. He can defend well when he's in a strong position but when he isn't he does seem to have an attitude where he no longer cares. I'm sure this attitude will change if Honda give him a car capable of challenging for the WDC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Wonderful analysis there Murray.I must add however that Jenson is still lacking in one area, defence. He can defend well when he's in a strong position but when he isn't he does seem to have an attitude where he no longer cares. I'm sure this attitude will change if Honda give him a car capable of challenging for the WDC. I remember in Canada Button was overtook by Coulthard in the dying laps for 8th place. Was there something wrong with his car that day because the Honda is usally alot faster than the Red Bull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monza gorilla 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 He had brake problems apparently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devilsinskirts 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 His car was going backwards for a lot of that race ykick. (I seem to recall he qualified 3rd or 4th). I also seem to remember the SC periods having a fair bit to do with that, with Honda unable to get the cars up to speed as fast as the others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pabloh20 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I remember in Canada Button was overtook by Coulthard in the dying laps for 8th place. Was there something wrong with his car that day because the Bonda is usally alot faster than the Red Bull. I remember DC managing to have an off on a parade lap...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I remember DC managing to have an off on a parade lap...... I remember Button running into a wall while behind the safety car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monza gorilla 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I remember when all this was fields........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pabloh20 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I remember Button running into a wall while behind the safety car. Yeah, but wasn't DC in pole position so was just wandering around the track, just bringing the cars round to the grid?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 Yeah, but wasn't DC in pole position so was just wandering around the track, just bringing the cars round to the grid?? I cant say i remember. The last time DC was in a car that was capable of getting pole was 2003 which was quite some time ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pabloh20 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I cant say i remember. The last time DC was in a car that was capable of getting pole was 2003 which was quite some time ago. He was with Williams at the time, I think, so geez that would be going back some time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 He was with Williams at the time, I think, so geez that would be going back some time. I didnt start watching F1 until 1998 so i would not remember that. Odds are the incident your talking about happened 9 or 10 years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monza gorilla 1 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 It was with Williams. I believe it was blamed on tonsillitis. As was every result that season. Otherwise he would have won the WDC. Obviously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ykickamoocow 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 It was with Williams. I believe it was blamed on tonsillitis. As was every result that season. Otherwise he would have won the WDC. Obviously. What are you talking about? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sato 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2006 I remember Button running into a wall while behind the safety car. I remember DC running into the Pit wall whilst leading a race in Adeliade. (Sorry couldn't help myself there....) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
