2016 Season + Jenson Button career (photos)
Discussion
Hello all! Long time, no see. 
I worked on this post last year as a review of interesting moments in the 2016 season and JB’s career highlights. I finished JB’s part, and got up to Malaysian GP before I got overtaken by work and I shelved the post. What with the new season starting, JB not being on the grid and me being a bit of a JB fan, thought it a shame not to post what I wrote. So here it is. (Lots of photos so I put it in a spoiler tag for those browsing on phones etc).
Jenson Button - Career Highlights
1998; Winner of the British Formula Ford Championship (7 wins, 12 podiums, 9 poles; 7 fastest laps); Runner up in European FF Championship (1 win, 2 podiums, 2 poles, 7 fastest laps); Winner of the Formula Ford Festival race.
^Lovely photo.
1999; 2nd in F3 Macau GP; Finished 3rd overall in British F3 (3 wins, 7 podiums, 4 poles, 4 fastest laps)--FF and F3 performances earn him an F1 test with McLaren/Prost/Winfield Williams.
That’s his race face?!
According to driver db, he entered a Procar race at Spa in a BMW 320i. Bonus points for any fans who can find a nice photo of that race.
2000; BMW Williams F1; Williams FW22. Ralf Schumacher.
First points in his 2nd race (Interlagos) finishing 6th.
Best drives; Spielberg in a spare car setup for Ralf. Qualified 18th (teammate, 19th), finished 5th.
Hockenheim. Ended up starting at the back of the grid. Drove through the field in wet/changeable conditions to finish 4th.
Suzuka. While Michael Schumacher was busy winning the race and his first WDC with Ferrari at this race in changing conditions, Button finished a well composed 5th in the lead lap (qualified 5th too) whilst his teammate (qualified 6th) spun off.
Frank Williams decides to loan him over to Benetton to make way for the incoming Juan Pablo Montoya.
2001; Mild Seven Benetton Renault; Benetton B201. Giancarlo Fisichella.
After having a fantastic debut year, Button has a season to forget. Team mate manages to finish in the points thrice, once in a podium. Button manages in the points once at the German GP, and Fisi finished ahead of him in that race. However, his best drive of the season came at Suzuka. Qualifies 9th and finished 7th, just outside of the points.
Oh and Monaco, where he qualifies 17th and finishes 7th. Drivers had to work super hard to earn points in those days!
An article on how he was perceived at that time:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/477774...
Benetton becomes the works Renault outfit.
2002; Renault F1 team; Renault R202. Jarno Trulli.
Team mate was well known in the paddock for his stellar qualifying pace (‘the Trulli train’), Button outscored him over a season showing superior race pace. He gets moved aside for the F1 debut of Fernando Alonso who was also managed by Flavio the team boss, for 2003.
Button’s best drives were:
Sepang (qualifies 8th, finishes 4th--only four drivers in the lead lap and he was the last! Those were the days!)
Interlagos (qualifies 7th, finishes 4th--a second ahead of a charging Montoya)
Imola (qualified 9th, finishes 5th, team mate qualified 8th but finishes a lapped 9th);
^It was a good drive but the Grand Prix as a whole wasn’t a very thrilling one according to a contemporary race report.
2003; BAR Honda; BAR 005. Jacques Villeneuve.
Things start to get serious as he gets paired with a mouthy WDC. Proceeds to show him a clean pair of heels.
Best drives were at Spielberg (finishes 4th from 7th on the grid);
Leads a race for the first time at Indianapolis. On for his first podium, when his engine fails.
Suzuka (finishes 4th from 9th on the grid).
I also liked the Silverstone one. Starts dead last on the grid (teammate starts 9th), carves through the field to finish 18 seconds ahead of teammate, who in the end finishes 10th.
2004; BAR Honda; BAR 006. Takuma Sato.
A breakthrough year. Gets his first podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix starting 6th on the grid, mixing it with the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and beating him in the end.
Another podium followed in the next race at Bahrain.
Follows that up with his first F1 pole position at Imola. Taking on Michael Schumacher in the dominant Ferrari, finished 2nd, 9.7s behind him in the end trading fast laps in the first stint.
A 2nd place finish at Monaco;
And a great drive up to another 2nd from 13th on the grid at Hockenheim.
^Love this shot. Just how aggressive Jenson’s helmet looks, leaning forwards where Olivier Panis is leaning backwards slouched and passive.
Drives the BAR 006 to five more podiums, en route to finishing 3rd in the WDC behind the all conquering Ferrari F2004s of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
2005; BAR Honda; BAR 007.
The car was an evolution of the previous one, but there were some significant technical regulation changes that brought an end to Ferrari dominance in the previous years. The team struggled in the first half of the season, being banned for two races on technical grounds. Button manages a couple of podiums in the second half. Best drives;
Hockenheim. Starts on front row but finishes 3rd after a battle with Schumacher.
Istanbul. Finished 5th, from 13th on the grid.
Spa. Finished 3rd from 9th on the grid.
BAR Honda becomes the works Honda outfit.
2006; Honda Racing; Honda RA106. Rubens Barrichello.
Sepang. Podium finish behind the quick Renaults.
Hungaroring. In his seventh year of racing, finally gets to the top step of the podium in wet/changeable conditions starting 14th on the grid (10 place grid drop for an engine change). Also the first win for a works Honda since the 1967 Italian Grand Prix (John Surtees took the win then).
The eyes say it all.
Interlagos. 14th on the grid to podium. Way down the pack.
2007; Honda Racing; Honda RA107. Rubens Barrichello.
Shanghai. 5th place finish from 10th on the grid in wet/drying conditions. A terrible year for the team as a whole, failing to build on the competitiveness of the previous years.
2008; Honda Racing; Honda RA108. Rubens Barrichello.
Team mate thrice in the points and a podium (at the British GP no less), while Button only manages to be in the points once. Echoes of 2001. His best drive? Barcelona. Finishing 6th from 13th on the grid.
Honda pulls out of the sport late in the year leaving Button without a drive for 2009. Quite possibly the darkest days of his career. Out of the ashes of Honda, rises a team carrying the name of the Team Principal of the 2008 team. And Button gets a drive for 2009 in the same. Then followed a most remarkable story of a team fighting for survival, running on a fraction of the budgets of the top teams, while fighting for the biggest prize in the sport. The Constructors’ Championship. And their drivers fighting for the greatest crown of their careers. The Drivers’ Championship.
2009; Brawn GP; BGP 001. Rubens Barrichello.
After his first run in testing, how was it? How was it?
The smile says it all.
To summarize, for the first half of the season, the car was the class of the field aided by an interpretation of the technical regulations that gave an advantage in aerodynamic performance, but equally people forget that it did not have KERS and this became a significant disadvantage as the season went on (if not, off the line in the early races) and other teams started to catch up.
But, from what can be seen in Button’s career so far, a car that is head and shoulders above the others in ultimate pace, and a racer in Button generally having supreme race pace and great race craft became a lethal combination, as he dominated the field winning six out of the first seven races. Best drives of the first half?
Sepang. Pole position and won in wet conditions. Only half points awarded due to the race not run to at least 75% of the GP distance.
Barcelona. Pole and won. The rest of the drivers wondered why they turned up for the weekend (teammate finishing 13 seconds down the road), although his teammate had a few things to say at the press afterwards. Conspiracy ahoy!
At the midway, Button finds himself in a position he has never been before, leading the Drivers’ Championship. For one reason or another, as teams catch up to Brawn in performance, the hunter becomes the hunted, and he suffers a dip in form, before finally sealing the Championship with the drive of his life at Interlagos. Best drives of the second half?
Monza. A mark of a great driver is when he minimises points loss to his opponents even when his teammate has the edge in a given weekend, which happens even if you are the GOAT. This is one of those weekends when Rubens had the edge. Started 6th, finished 2nd to complete a Brawn 1-2. Start of him regaining some form.
Interlagos, of course. Started 14th to finish 5th (teammate started from pole running light, finished 8th). Rubens leading away, but where’s Jenson?
A wild Kamui.
Felipe waves the flag and welcomes the new World Champion.
‘We are the Champions, my friend, WOOHOO!’
Proud Papa
Announces his departure to McLaren, to partner Lewis Hamilton, one of the fastest and most naturally gifted driver of his generation. Many considered this move foolhardy.
2010; McLaren; MP4-25. Lewis Hamilton
Gives McLaren their first win of the season at Melbourne in changeable conditions profiting from an early (and correct) call to slicks in a drying track.
However, his best drives were:
Shanghai. Wins the race from 5th on the grid in wet/drying conditions. Look who’s next to him at the restart!
Monza. One of his best qualifying laps. Now, Button is not generally known for low fuel, balls to the wall, ultimate single lap speed. His teammates over the years have generally extracted more from the car in those situations than him. And this was all too obvious in his pairing with Hamilton. However, he has had moments where his sheer speed has eclipsed even the fastest. And you’d better believe it. Fernando on pole in a Ferrari at Monza by a tenth from Jenson in a McLaren. This was a titanic clash.
Fernando prevailed in the end, winning the race. Gave JB a bump at the chicane at the start though. Cheeky (and lucky) bugger.
2011; McLaren; MP4-26. Lewis Hamilton
In a season dominated by the gloomy blues of Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull, a silver ray of hope. It’s Jenson Button in a McLaren. The qualifying gap between him and teammate remains broadly similar to 2010, but he out-races teammate and finishes runner up to Vettel in his all-conquering RB7. Best drives:
Montreal. Last to first in 30 laps. One of the Greatest Grand Prix ever.
Schu had a good race too.
Button tangled with his teammate earlier in the race leading to his retirement. I can't find a photo of it but one of my favourite memories of this GP was the look of disbelief on Hamilton as he cheered Button finally getting into the lead.
Hungaroring. His 200th GP start. Won in wet/changeable conditions.
Suzuka. Another one of his best qualifying laps (+0.009s to Vettel’s pole). His teammate manages the only non Red Bull pole of the year (Korea), however, this was the closest anyone got to Red Bull/Vettel in the tracks where they were fastest. And what a track to do it in.
Oh wow, a scowling Lewis.
Vettel gives the big squeeze at the start.
Button wins the race. A home from another home.
2012; McLaren; MP4-27. Lewis Hamilton
Melbourne. This was a straight fight between teammates and he came out on top.
Spa. Starts on pole and dominates the race. The greatest qualifying lap he had ever driven according to him. Not hard to see why. I don’t think I have ever seen a lap that looked like man and machine were in such perfect harmony.
^That rear end.
Rocket Red.
Interlagos. A fantastic duel with teammate in a damp/wet track, on slicks in the first half of the race. Team mate prevails but gets punted out by an overzealous Hulk. Button wins.
And Hamilton leaves the team at the end of the year.
2013; McLaren; MP4-28. Sergio Perez.
Things start to go downhill quite quickly from here on in, the machinery he’s provided with turn out to be firmly in the midfield. Best finishes of a 4th, 5th and three 6ths. Best drives:
I think he pretty comprehensively outraced Perez in Barcelona (14th on the grid to 8th)
...and Hungaroring (13th on the grid to 7th) mixing it with much faster cars.
Interlagos being the best result of the lot (14th to 4th). Perez did well here to climb up to 6th from 19th too.
2014; McLaren; MP4-29. Kevin Magnussen.
Button’s dad passed away earlier in the year. A new era dawns in the technical regulations and McLaren give Button, the ugliest car he has ever driven. No matter, he outraces his rookie teammate driving it to a podium (3rd) and four 4th place finishes (teammate manages a 2nd place and a 5th). Best drives at:
Silverstone. Pink for Papa. Best qualifying result for McLaren the whole year (3rd). Ends up 4th at the flag. That British podium painfully out of reach still.
Spa. 10th on the grid to sixth. A nice three way scrap.
Gets his drive for 2015 confirmed in December 2014. Also gets married to long term girlfriend Jessica Michibata.
2015; McLaren; MP4-30. Fernando Alonso
Gets paired with the most complete driver on the grid (by popular paddock opinion, one must add). But also gets given the slowest McLaren he has ever driven, and 2nd worst on the grid. No matter, he takes it to points finishes four times (teammate manages it twice). Can’t read much into it as the reliability problems were overwhelming to assess the relative performance between them. Best results at:
Monaco. Scores the first points for the McLaren-Honda partnership part II. Looked pretty handy in qualifying too.
Austin. Wet to drying conditions. 11th on the grid to 6th. Very evenly matched with Alonso overall in this race. Put a pass on him also.
2016; McLaren; MP4-31. Fernando Alonso.
An improvement in car performance sees him finish in the points four times in the first half of the season. At midway, announces that he’s going on a sabbatical for 2017. Teammate takes the car to 5th position, twice.
Best drives;
Spielberg. Great qualifying performance in the wet gives a 5th spot on the grid, runs 2nd for sometime and finishes 6th at the flag.
Monza. Just put this in here, ‘cause he put a pass on Alonso on track, buying a tyre advantage and then making it work after being out qualified by Alonso by a tenth (again!).
Hockenheim. Qualified 12th and finished 8th, controlling the advances of his charging teammate.
Exchanging helmets.
Last seen on track, trying to control a Force India.
Phew, that was a very long career! JB is a giant killer. He has been racing in machinery far too lowly for his abilities as a racing driver, for far too much of his time at the top category in single seaters. He has raced in the fastest era of Grand Prix racing, with and against some of the best drivers to ever sit in a Grand Prix car and beaten them.
Looking back on his career, the one thing that stands out is his race pace. How can a driver that cannot extract the last ounce of performance in ultimate pace, extract so much more over a race distance, and make it work so effectively?
A driver who does not for some reason, extract the last drop of performance in a single lap would need bulletproof race craft to realise the stunning race pace he can exhibit over a race distance. For me, this has always been a real mark of how fast and how good a racing driver is. A driver who can replicate his speed over multiple laps on a set of tyres, and to do it consistently quicker than another driver in similar equipment. And in Button’s case, it is doing that with the race craft to compete with and overcome other drivers over a Grand Prix distance. Above all, he has always erred towards being fair and forgiving in wheel-to-wheel combat and this is something I’ve always admired in him, for it takes greater discipline for a racing driver to be that, when every fibre of his being is screaming to do otherwise. A driver who probably belonged in a more dangerous, bygone era of Grand Prix racing.
It is no coincidence for me that he idolised Alain Prost. It is also a pity that one is considered a legend of the sport, and another a mere Champion who was in the right place at the right time.
2016 season photos coming in the next post...
I worked on this post last year as a review of interesting moments in the 2016 season and JB’s career highlights. I finished JB’s part, and got up to Malaysian GP before I got overtaken by work and I shelved the post. What with the new season starting, JB not being on the grid and me being a bit of a JB fan, thought it a shame not to post what I wrote. So here it is. (Lots of photos so I put it in a spoiler tag for those browsing on phones etc).
Jenson Button - Career Highlights
1998; Winner of the British Formula Ford Championship (7 wins, 12 podiums, 9 poles; 7 fastest laps); Runner up in European FF Championship (1 win, 2 podiums, 2 poles, 7 fastest laps); Winner of the Formula Ford Festival race.
^Lovely photo.
1999; 2nd in F3 Macau GP; Finished 3rd overall in British F3 (3 wins, 7 podiums, 4 poles, 4 fastest laps)--FF and F3 performances earn him an F1 test with McLaren/Prost/Winfield Williams.
That’s his race face?!
According to driver db, he entered a Procar race at Spa in a BMW 320i. Bonus points for any fans who can find a nice photo of that race.
2000; BMW Williams F1; Williams FW22. Ralf Schumacher.
First points in his 2nd race (Interlagos) finishing 6th.
Best drives; Spielberg in a spare car setup for Ralf. Qualified 18th (teammate, 19th), finished 5th.
Hockenheim. Ended up starting at the back of the grid. Drove through the field in wet/changeable conditions to finish 4th.
Suzuka. While Michael Schumacher was busy winning the race and his first WDC with Ferrari at this race in changing conditions, Button finished a well composed 5th in the lead lap (qualified 5th too) whilst his teammate (qualified 6th) spun off.
Frank Williams decides to loan him over to Benetton to make way for the incoming Juan Pablo Montoya.
2001; Mild Seven Benetton Renault; Benetton B201. Giancarlo Fisichella.
After having a fantastic debut year, Button has a season to forget. Team mate manages to finish in the points thrice, once in a podium. Button manages in the points once at the German GP, and Fisi finished ahead of him in that race. However, his best drive of the season came at Suzuka. Qualifies 9th and finished 7th, just outside of the points.
Oh and Monaco, where he qualifies 17th and finishes 7th. Drivers had to work super hard to earn points in those days!
An article on how he was perceived at that time:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/477774...
Benetton becomes the works Renault outfit.
2002; Renault F1 team; Renault R202. Jarno Trulli.
Team mate was well known in the paddock for his stellar qualifying pace (‘the Trulli train’), Button outscored him over a season showing superior race pace. He gets moved aside for the F1 debut of Fernando Alonso who was also managed by Flavio the team boss, for 2003.
Button’s best drives were:
Sepang (qualifies 8th, finishes 4th--only four drivers in the lead lap and he was the last! Those were the days!)
Interlagos (qualifies 7th, finishes 4th--a second ahead of a charging Montoya)
Imola (qualified 9th, finishes 5th, team mate qualified 8th but finishes a lapped 9th);
^It was a good drive but the Grand Prix as a whole wasn’t a very thrilling one according to a contemporary race report.
2003; BAR Honda; BAR 005. Jacques Villeneuve.
Things start to get serious as he gets paired with a mouthy WDC. Proceeds to show him a clean pair of heels.
Best drives were at Spielberg (finishes 4th from 7th on the grid);
Leads a race for the first time at Indianapolis. On for his first podium, when his engine fails.
Suzuka (finishes 4th from 9th on the grid).
I also liked the Silverstone one. Starts dead last on the grid (teammate starts 9th), carves through the field to finish 18 seconds ahead of teammate, who in the end finishes 10th.
2004; BAR Honda; BAR 006. Takuma Sato.
A breakthrough year. Gets his first podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix starting 6th on the grid, mixing it with the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and beating him in the end.
Another podium followed in the next race at Bahrain.
Follows that up with his first F1 pole position at Imola. Taking on Michael Schumacher in the dominant Ferrari, finished 2nd, 9.7s behind him in the end trading fast laps in the first stint.
A 2nd place finish at Monaco;
And a great drive up to another 2nd from 13th on the grid at Hockenheim.
^Love this shot. Just how aggressive Jenson’s helmet looks, leaning forwards where Olivier Panis is leaning backwards slouched and passive.
Drives the BAR 006 to five more podiums, en route to finishing 3rd in the WDC behind the all conquering Ferrari F2004s of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
2005; BAR Honda; BAR 007.
The car was an evolution of the previous one, but there were some significant technical regulation changes that brought an end to Ferrari dominance in the previous years. The team struggled in the first half of the season, being banned for two races on technical grounds. Button manages a couple of podiums in the second half. Best drives;
Hockenheim. Starts on front row but finishes 3rd after a battle with Schumacher.
Istanbul. Finished 5th, from 13th on the grid.
Spa. Finished 3rd from 9th on the grid.
BAR Honda becomes the works Honda outfit.
2006; Honda Racing; Honda RA106. Rubens Barrichello.
Sepang. Podium finish behind the quick Renaults.
Hungaroring. In his seventh year of racing, finally gets to the top step of the podium in wet/changeable conditions starting 14th on the grid (10 place grid drop for an engine change). Also the first win for a works Honda since the 1967 Italian Grand Prix (John Surtees took the win then).
The eyes say it all.
Interlagos. 14th on the grid to podium. Way down the pack.
2007; Honda Racing; Honda RA107. Rubens Barrichello.
Shanghai. 5th place finish from 10th on the grid in wet/drying conditions. A terrible year for the team as a whole, failing to build on the competitiveness of the previous years.
2008; Honda Racing; Honda RA108. Rubens Barrichello.
Team mate thrice in the points and a podium (at the British GP no less), while Button only manages to be in the points once. Echoes of 2001. His best drive? Barcelona. Finishing 6th from 13th on the grid.
Honda pulls out of the sport late in the year leaving Button without a drive for 2009. Quite possibly the darkest days of his career. Out of the ashes of Honda, rises a team carrying the name of the Team Principal of the 2008 team. And Button gets a drive for 2009 in the same. Then followed a most remarkable story of a team fighting for survival, running on a fraction of the budgets of the top teams, while fighting for the biggest prize in the sport. The Constructors’ Championship. And their drivers fighting for the greatest crown of their careers. The Drivers’ Championship.
2009; Brawn GP; BGP 001. Rubens Barrichello.
After his first run in testing, how was it? How was it?
The smile says it all.
To summarize, for the first half of the season, the car was the class of the field aided by an interpretation of the technical regulations that gave an advantage in aerodynamic performance, but equally people forget that it did not have KERS and this became a significant disadvantage as the season went on (if not, off the line in the early races) and other teams started to catch up.
But, from what can be seen in Button’s career so far, a car that is head and shoulders above the others in ultimate pace, and a racer in Button generally having supreme race pace and great race craft became a lethal combination, as he dominated the field winning six out of the first seven races. Best drives of the first half?
Sepang. Pole position and won in wet conditions. Only half points awarded due to the race not run to at least 75% of the GP distance.
Barcelona. Pole and won. The rest of the drivers wondered why they turned up for the weekend (teammate finishing 13 seconds down the road), although his teammate had a few things to say at the press afterwards. Conspiracy ahoy!
At the midway, Button finds himself in a position he has never been before, leading the Drivers’ Championship. For one reason or another, as teams catch up to Brawn in performance, the hunter becomes the hunted, and he suffers a dip in form, before finally sealing the Championship with the drive of his life at Interlagos. Best drives of the second half?
Monza. A mark of a great driver is when he minimises points loss to his opponents even when his teammate has the edge in a given weekend, which happens even if you are the GOAT. This is one of those weekends when Rubens had the edge. Started 6th, finished 2nd to complete a Brawn 1-2. Start of him regaining some form.
Interlagos, of course. Started 14th to finish 5th (teammate started from pole running light, finished 8th). Rubens leading away, but where’s Jenson?
A wild Kamui.
Felipe waves the flag and welcomes the new World Champion.
‘We are the Champions, my friend, WOOHOO!’
Proud Papa
Announces his departure to McLaren, to partner Lewis Hamilton, one of the fastest and most naturally gifted driver of his generation. Many considered this move foolhardy.
2010; McLaren; MP4-25. Lewis Hamilton
Gives McLaren their first win of the season at Melbourne in changeable conditions profiting from an early (and correct) call to slicks in a drying track.
However, his best drives were:
Shanghai. Wins the race from 5th on the grid in wet/drying conditions. Look who’s next to him at the restart!
Monza. One of his best qualifying laps. Now, Button is not generally known for low fuel, balls to the wall, ultimate single lap speed. His teammates over the years have generally extracted more from the car in those situations than him. And this was all too obvious in his pairing with Hamilton. However, he has had moments where his sheer speed has eclipsed even the fastest. And you’d better believe it. Fernando on pole in a Ferrari at Monza by a tenth from Jenson in a McLaren. This was a titanic clash.
Fernando prevailed in the end, winning the race. Gave JB a bump at the chicane at the start though. Cheeky (and lucky) bugger.
2011; McLaren; MP4-26. Lewis Hamilton
In a season dominated by the gloomy blues of Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull, a silver ray of hope. It’s Jenson Button in a McLaren. The qualifying gap between him and teammate remains broadly similar to 2010, but he out-races teammate and finishes runner up to Vettel in his all-conquering RB7. Best drives:
Montreal. Last to first in 30 laps. One of the Greatest Grand Prix ever.
Schu had a good race too.
Button tangled with his teammate earlier in the race leading to his retirement. I can't find a photo of it but one of my favourite memories of this GP was the look of disbelief on Hamilton as he cheered Button finally getting into the lead.
Hungaroring. His 200th GP start. Won in wet/changeable conditions.
Suzuka. Another one of his best qualifying laps (+0.009s to Vettel’s pole). His teammate manages the only non Red Bull pole of the year (Korea), however, this was the closest anyone got to Red Bull/Vettel in the tracks where they were fastest. And what a track to do it in.
Oh wow, a scowling Lewis.
Vettel gives the big squeeze at the start.
Button wins the race. A home from another home.
2012; McLaren; MP4-27. Lewis Hamilton
Melbourne. This was a straight fight between teammates and he came out on top.
Spa. Starts on pole and dominates the race. The greatest qualifying lap he had ever driven according to him. Not hard to see why. I don’t think I have ever seen a lap that looked like man and machine were in such perfect harmony.
^That rear end.
Rocket Red.
Interlagos. A fantastic duel with teammate in a damp/wet track, on slicks in the first half of the race. Team mate prevails but gets punted out by an overzealous Hulk. Button wins.
And Hamilton leaves the team at the end of the year.
2013; McLaren; MP4-28. Sergio Perez.
Things start to go downhill quite quickly from here on in, the machinery he’s provided with turn out to be firmly in the midfield. Best finishes of a 4th, 5th and three 6ths. Best drives:
I think he pretty comprehensively outraced Perez in Barcelona (14th on the grid to 8th)
...and Hungaroring (13th on the grid to 7th) mixing it with much faster cars.
Interlagos being the best result of the lot (14th to 4th). Perez did well here to climb up to 6th from 19th too.
2014; McLaren; MP4-29. Kevin Magnussen.
Button’s dad passed away earlier in the year. A new era dawns in the technical regulations and McLaren give Button, the ugliest car he has ever driven. No matter, he outraces his rookie teammate driving it to a podium (3rd) and four 4th place finishes (teammate manages a 2nd place and a 5th). Best drives at:
Silverstone. Pink for Papa. Best qualifying result for McLaren the whole year (3rd). Ends up 4th at the flag. That British podium painfully out of reach still.
Spa. 10th on the grid to sixth. A nice three way scrap.
Gets his drive for 2015 confirmed in December 2014. Also gets married to long term girlfriend Jessica Michibata.
2015; McLaren; MP4-30. Fernando Alonso
Gets paired with the most complete driver on the grid (by popular paddock opinion, one must add). But also gets given the slowest McLaren he has ever driven, and 2nd worst on the grid. No matter, he takes it to points finishes four times (teammate manages it twice). Can’t read much into it as the reliability problems were overwhelming to assess the relative performance between them. Best results at:
Monaco. Scores the first points for the McLaren-Honda partnership part II. Looked pretty handy in qualifying too.
Austin. Wet to drying conditions. 11th on the grid to 6th. Very evenly matched with Alonso overall in this race. Put a pass on him also.
2016; McLaren; MP4-31. Fernando Alonso.
An improvement in car performance sees him finish in the points four times in the first half of the season. At midway, announces that he’s going on a sabbatical for 2017. Teammate takes the car to 5th position, twice.
Best drives;
Spielberg. Great qualifying performance in the wet gives a 5th spot on the grid, runs 2nd for sometime and finishes 6th at the flag.
Monza. Just put this in here, ‘cause he put a pass on Alonso on track, buying a tyre advantage and then making it work after being out qualified by Alonso by a tenth (again!).
Hockenheim. Qualified 12th and finished 8th, controlling the advances of his charging teammate.
Exchanging helmets.
Last seen on track, trying to control a Force India.
Phew, that was a very long career! JB is a giant killer. He has been racing in machinery far too lowly for his abilities as a racing driver, for far too much of his time at the top category in single seaters. He has raced in the fastest era of Grand Prix racing, with and against some of the best drivers to ever sit in a Grand Prix car and beaten them.
Looking back on his career, the one thing that stands out is his race pace. How can a driver that cannot extract the last ounce of performance in ultimate pace, extract so much more over a race distance, and make it work so effectively?
A driver who does not for some reason, extract the last drop of performance in a single lap would need bulletproof race craft to realise the stunning race pace he can exhibit over a race distance. For me, this has always been a real mark of how fast and how good a racing driver is. A driver who can replicate his speed over multiple laps on a set of tyres, and to do it consistently quicker than another driver in similar equipment. And in Button’s case, it is doing that with the race craft to compete with and overcome other drivers over a Grand Prix distance. Above all, he has always erred towards being fair and forgiving in wheel-to-wheel combat and this is something I’ve always admired in him, for it takes greater discipline for a racing driver to be that, when every fibre of his being is screaming to do otherwise. A driver who probably belonged in a more dangerous, bygone era of Grand Prix racing.
It is no coincidence for me that he idolised Alain Prost. It is also a pity that one is considered a legend of the sport, and another a mere Champion who was in the right place at the right time.
2016 season photos coming in the next post...
Amusing/cool moments of 2016. Spoiler reveals up to Singapore GP. If anybody is inclined, feel free to post your favourite moments of last year.
Australian GP
Class of 2016
Sebastian leads the way
Fernando suffers a horrifying crash
Palmer and Bottas have a little scrap
Nico wins
First points for Haas
Bahrain GP
Enter Stoffel
A ‘sexy lap’ to take pole.
Vettel’s engine lets go on the formation lap
Oops
A McLaren gets parked up
Massa and Kvyat have a fight. Kvyat prevails.
A McLaren scores points
Nico wins
Chinese GP
Engine change for Lewis
A Manor goes very sideways on the straight
A brilliant lap by Daniel gives him a front row start
Daniel leads! Kvyat sees the opportunity.
Kimi loses his front wing
Lewis loses his...a bit further back
Daniel’s tyre fails from the lead.
Nico wins!
Still discussing the first corner incident
Russian GP
Lewis has a engine problem preventing Q3 participation.
That’s a beautiful car, isn’t it? It’s bloody fast too.
Nico gets pole but where’s Lewis?
Daniil bumps into Seb.
A Mercedes narrowly avoids collateral in the Dany-Seb love in
Seb swears.
Further back: Rio gets some air courtesy of Esteban. That must have hurt!
Seb rides a moped
Nico wins after PU trouble during the race, while team mate managed to nurse the car home with zero water pressure for the last 16 laps.
Daniil loses his Red Bull drive
Spanish GP
Enter Max. Lots to learn and imbibing everything like a sponge.
A 1:22:000. I remember this very well. Two amazing runs in Q2 and Q3 by Hamilton
My reaction after the Q2 lap:
My reaction after the Q3 one:
The inevitable happens at last.
Daniel leads once again!
A Ferrari is on the prowl.
Ferrari’s last Champion has a glimpse of a race win after a long time. Look at the status of Max’s tyres. Yuck.
Seb plays ping-pong with Dan. Seb swears.
Max wins by 0.6 seconds with a flawless drive in his first race for RB.
Pleased as punch.
Monaco GP
Max crashes his Red Bull in qualifying
Felipe Nasr has an engine failure...nothing special just looking at how the smoke is shaped into vortices at the edges.
Daniel gets his first F1 pole position. Mega lap and balls of steel.
Race starts under Safety Car. PH disapproves in disgust.
Kimi causes a traffic jam. Grosjean whines.
Nico let’s Lewis go under team orders to chase down Daniel for the win.
A masterstroke from Mercedes allows Lewis to gain track position on Daniel, but he has to drive on a drying track with full wets! Daniel is quicker on the inters but can’t get past.
The moment when the race turned decisively in Lewis’ favour. Where’s the tyres?!?!?!
A fierce battle ensues on a greasy track, with both drivers on slicks. Dan gets Lewis to out brake himself out of the tunnel...Lewis cuts a corner but maintains position...
^I love this shot! Dan is fully sideways catching a slide off line one handed, inches from the wall, gesticulating to Lewis!
Max wrecks his Red Bull, again.
Lewis wins. #Pissed #Blessed #Blessed
Canadian GP
Sainz Jr has a close encounter with the Wall of Champions trying to get into Q3. Doesn’t end well.
...however, Daniel gives the Wall a thwack enroute to his fastest lap of the weekend
Vettel rockets into the lead, Lewis elbows Nico into the escape road and 10th position after the 1st corner.
Seagulls distract Seb while the Ferrari strategists get distracted by the virtual safety car and hand the race lead to Lewis/Mercedes.
Nico loses it going for a last ditch overtake on Max. Finishes 5th.
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. Lewis quotes Muhammad Ali and dedicates win to him.
Bottas gets to his first podium of the season starting 8th. I think that’s the happiest bunch of crew pushing a car into Parc ferme. Result.
European GP
A brand new street circuit, with the longest straight of any in the calendar
Turn 8 to Turn 10 causes some consternation among the drivers after track walks
Lewis clips the barrier in Turn 10 in Q2 and starts 10th. Oh, and well done Baku.
Nico gets pole. Perez drives a brilliant lap to come 2nd.
Nico drives off into the distance.
Three wide, some great slipstreaming into T1.
Nico wins.
Checo delivers another brilliant podium for Force India from 7th on the grid (gearbox change), passing Kimi (who also had a 5 sec penalty) in the last few laps .
Austrian GP
Nico has a big crash in FP3 wrecking the car and getting a grid drop for a gearbox change as a result.
Earlier, Dany and Max too suffer crashes for using/abusing the newly installed kerbing. Max criticises the kerbs.
Hulk is the fastest man in a wet/drying track in Q3 before the Mercedes duo pip him. Starts on the front row alongside Lewis due to Nico’s grid drop.
Old hands reunite for a BMW Procar race.
Hulk has a poor start and we had a British 1-2, briefly. JB imagines he’s in a BGP 001 once again. ‘I’ve seen this on the telly’
A slow pitstop and a tardy outlap sees Lewis lose the presumed race lead to Nico who gets given an alternate strategy to make progress due to his lowly grid position. Seb suffers a tyre failure doing a long first stint--leading the race at that point. Pirelli blame debris.
Mercedes give Lewis the undercut on Nico in the final round of pitstops but it isn’t enough. But they end up putting Nico on a tyre that grains badly.
In the last lap Lewis gets a run on him and they tangle again.
[trolling]Lewis runs over Nico’s front wing and breaks it.[/trolling]
PH bays for blood.
Lewis wins. Nico finishes 4th.
Toto gets fed up.
Pascal scores a point for Manor starting 12th on the grid (first time a Manor had reached Q2). Had some good fortune with Perez retiring ahead, but you would take it as a Manor driver, wouldn’t you?
British GP
Not one for passing up an opportunity, the British public offer Nico some driving lessons.
Johnny goes down
Lewis gets pole and Max too was the faster of the RB drivers.
Race starts under safety car again and SC stays till it was dry enough for Intermediates. PH goes apoplectic.
Max becomes a thorn in the side of Nico putting a stunning pass around the outside at Becketts.
Nico gets him back, once they get on slicks in a damp track.
Fernando finds better grip in the gravel. Recovers and puts in his fastest lap of the race shortly after, only a tenth slower than the fastest lap of the race by Nico.
Jo is keen to see how the grip levels are like with three tyres.
Seb has an altercation with Felipe. Picks up a penalty.
Lewis wins and tries to break the monotony at the podium, after a typically serene drive in changing conditions.
Lewis surfs the adoring British crowd. A teenaged girl tries to touch him.
A man takes a photo of Lewis’ crotch.
Hungarian GP
Nico gets pole in slightly controversial circumstances after a downpour has the majority of qualifying conducted in wet to drying conditions.
Lewis doesn't like it. Rumours abound that he lobbied the Stewards to investigate/penalise. Mercedes are not impressed. Gives a lecture on yellow flag etiquette at the post-qualifying press conference.
Daniel tries it around the outside at the 1st corner
Kimi makes it difficult for Max to pass.
Max makes it impossible for Kimi to pass, later.
Lewis wins in the slowest speed possible.
German GP
Nico duly takes pole with a single run in Q3.
Has a terrible start and gets swallowed up by the Red Bulls who started in the 2nd row.
Crazy Max takes Dan around the outside.
Max and Nico tangle. Nico gets a penalty.
Dan has a nice sprint in the closing stages to take 2nd.
Lewis wins.
Dan does a shoey to celebrate his podium on his 100th GP start.
Belgian GP
Max delights the scores of Dutch supporters by qualifying in the front row alongside Nico.
Kimi was on form too. 2 tenths off Nico.
Max has a nightmare start and gets entangled in a 1st corner incident with the Ferraris.
Fernando and Lewis starting near the back due to engine change penalties climb up the pack amongst the ruckus.
Kevin loses it at Raidillion and has a big crash, red flagging the race.
Kimi and Max have several close shaves due to Max’s red mist defending. Kimi impersonates donald duck on the radio.
Red flag costs Hulk and he ends up 4th at the flag.
Fernando finishes an excellent 7th, keeping some fast cars behind.
Nico wins after leading lights to flag.
Daniel and Lewis round out the podium.
Mark does a shoey
Italian GP
Lewis knocks it out of the park to get pole by half a second in qualifying.
Esteban makes his first Q3 appearance in the Haas.
Seb does a wild and spectacular looking lap to beat Kimi by a tenth.
Nico nails the start. Lewis gets swallowed up by the pack.
Dan puts a monstrous out braking manoeuvre on Bottas.
Jenson and Fernando have a little dice.
Nico wins, leading lights to flag. Lewis completes a Mercedes 1-2.
Singapore GP
It's Nico's turn to smash all comers in qualifying. Gap between the Merc teammates is so big (0.7s) that Daniel just about manages to slot his Red Bull neatly between them.
Oh and the small matter of Mercedes having solved the mysterious lack of pace at this track in 2015.
Unfortunately the man who is usually very fast around this place doesn't get to participate as his team elect to give their competitors an easy ride. So he tries to beat them on three wheels. (need a better photo!)
Force India, Williams and McLaren get their arse handed to them by Toro Rosso in qualifying.
Hulk doesn’t even get to the first corner this time, getting caught in another 1st lap incident precipitated by a slow starting Max.
Race director gets a marshal to run for his life during the restart
Daniil having so much confidence in the car and between the walls all weekend, gives Max a taste of his own medicine.
Kimi passes Hamilton’s Mercedes. Ferrari strategists restore their team’s rightful place behind Mercedes by giving the place back via strategy.
Red Bull take a final strategy play with Daniel...Mercedes sell Nico down the river and ask him to hold on tight.
Daniel drives like his pants were on fire to catch Nico, setting a new lap record in the process making up a pitstop worth of time in 13 laps. Nico holds on though, winning by less than 0.5 seconds in the end.
(sorry not accurate, this pic was from qualifying...but it’s how I imagine it...pace was close to the 2009 refuelling cars...very impressive but those tyres were destroyed at the end)
Malaysian GP
The future retirees celebrating JB’s 300th GP start in the McLaren motorhome modelled into a pub. Felipe likes cake.
Australian GP
Class of 2016
Sebastian leads the way
Fernando suffers a horrifying crash
Palmer and Bottas have a little scrap
Nico wins
First points for Haas
Bahrain GP
Enter Stoffel
A ‘sexy lap’ to take pole.
Vettel’s engine lets go on the formation lap
Oops
A McLaren gets parked up
Massa and Kvyat have a fight. Kvyat prevails.
A McLaren scores points
Nico wins
Chinese GP
Engine change for Lewis
A Manor goes very sideways on the straight
A brilliant lap by Daniel gives him a front row start
Daniel leads!
Kvyat sees the opportunity.Kimi loses his front wing
Lewis loses his...a bit further back
Daniel’s tyre fails from the lead.
Nico wins!
Still discussing the first corner incident
Russian GP
Lewis has a engine problem preventing Q3 participation.
That’s a beautiful car, isn’t it? It’s bloody fast too.
Nico gets pole but where’s Lewis?
Daniil bumps into Seb.
A Mercedes narrowly avoids collateral in the Dany-Seb love in
Seb swears.
Further back: Rio gets some air courtesy of Esteban. That must have hurt!
Seb rides a moped
Nico wins after PU trouble during the race, while team mate managed to nurse the car home with zero water pressure for the last 16 laps.
Daniil loses his Red Bull drive
Spanish GP
Enter Max. Lots to learn and imbibing everything like a sponge.
A 1:22:000. I remember this very well. Two amazing runs in Q2 and Q3 by Hamilton
My reaction after the Q2 lap:
My reaction after the Q3 one:
The inevitable happens at last.
Daniel leads once again!
A Ferrari is on the prowl.
Ferrari’s last Champion has a glimpse of a race win after a long time. Look at the status of Max’s tyres. Yuck.
Seb plays ping-pong with Dan. Seb swears.
Max wins by 0.6 seconds with a flawless drive in his first race for RB.
Pleased as punch.
Monaco GP
Max crashes his Red Bull in qualifying
Felipe Nasr has an engine failure...nothing special just looking at how the smoke is shaped into vortices at the edges.
Daniel gets his first F1 pole position. Mega lap and balls of steel.
Race starts under Safety Car. PH disapproves in disgust.
Kimi causes a traffic jam. Grosjean whines.
Nico let’s Lewis go under team orders to chase down Daniel for the win.
A masterstroke from Mercedes allows Lewis to gain track position on Daniel, but he has to drive on a drying track with full wets! Daniel is quicker on the inters but can’t get past.
The moment when the race turned decisively in Lewis’ favour. Where’s the tyres?!?!?!
A fierce battle ensues on a greasy track, with both drivers on slicks. Dan gets Lewis to out brake himself out of the tunnel...Lewis cuts a corner but maintains position...
^I love this shot! Dan is fully sideways catching a slide off line one handed, inches from the wall, gesticulating to Lewis!
Max wrecks his Red Bull, again.
Lewis wins. #Pissed #Blessed #Blessed
Canadian GP
Sainz Jr has a close encounter with the Wall of Champions trying to get into Q3. Doesn’t end well.
...however, Daniel gives the Wall a thwack enroute to his fastest lap of the weekend
Vettel rockets into the lead, Lewis elbows Nico into the escape road and 10th position after the 1st corner.
Seagulls distract Seb while the Ferrari strategists get distracted by the virtual safety car and hand the race lead to Lewis/Mercedes.
Nico loses it going for a last ditch overtake on Max. Finishes 5th.
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. Lewis quotes Muhammad Ali and dedicates win to him.
Bottas gets to his first podium of the season starting 8th. I think that’s the happiest bunch of crew pushing a car into Parc ferme. Result.
European GP
A brand new street circuit, with the longest straight of any in the calendar
Turn 8 to Turn 10 causes some consternation among the drivers after track walks
Lewis clips the barrier in Turn 10 in Q2 and starts 10th. Oh, and well done Baku.
Nico gets pole. Perez drives a brilliant lap to come 2nd.
Nico drives off into the distance.
Three wide, some great slipstreaming into T1.
Nico wins.
Checo delivers another brilliant podium for Force India from 7th on the grid (gearbox change), passing Kimi (who also had a 5 sec penalty) in the last few laps .
Austrian GP
Nico has a big crash in FP3 wrecking the car and getting a grid drop for a gearbox change as a result.
Earlier, Dany and Max too suffer crashes for using/abusing the newly installed kerbing. Max criticises the kerbs.
Hulk is the fastest man in a wet/drying track in Q3 before the Mercedes duo pip him. Starts on the front row alongside Lewis due to Nico’s grid drop.
Old hands reunite for a BMW Procar race.
Hulk has a poor start and we had a British 1-2, briefly. JB imagines he’s in a BGP 001 once again. ‘I’ve seen this on the telly’
A slow pitstop and a tardy outlap sees Lewis lose the presumed race lead to Nico who gets given an alternate strategy to make progress due to his lowly grid position. Seb suffers a tyre failure doing a long first stint--leading the race at that point. Pirelli blame debris.
Mercedes give Lewis the undercut on Nico in the final round of pitstops but it isn’t enough. But they end up putting Nico on a tyre that grains badly.
In the last lap Lewis gets a run on him and they tangle again.
[trolling]Lewis runs over Nico’s front wing and breaks it.[/trolling]
PH bays for blood.
Lewis wins. Nico finishes 4th.
Toto gets fed up.
Pascal scores a point for Manor starting 12th on the grid (first time a Manor had reached Q2). Had some good fortune with Perez retiring ahead, but you would take it as a Manor driver, wouldn’t you?
British GP
Not one for passing up an opportunity, the British public offer Nico some driving lessons.
Johnny goes down
Lewis gets pole and Max too was the faster of the RB drivers.
Race starts under safety car again and SC stays till it was dry enough for Intermediates. PH goes apoplectic.
Max becomes a thorn in the side of Nico putting a stunning pass around the outside at Becketts.
Nico gets him back, once they get on slicks in a damp track.
Fernando finds better grip in the gravel. Recovers and puts in his fastest lap of the race shortly after, only a tenth slower than the fastest lap of the race by Nico.
Jo is keen to see how the grip levels are like with three tyres.
Seb has an altercation with Felipe. Picks up a penalty.
Lewis wins and tries to break the monotony at the podium, after a typically serene drive in changing conditions.
Lewis surfs the adoring British crowd. A teenaged girl tries to touch him.
A man takes a photo of Lewis’ crotch.
Hungarian GP
Nico gets pole in slightly controversial circumstances after a downpour has the majority of qualifying conducted in wet to drying conditions.
Lewis doesn't like it. Rumours abound that he lobbied the Stewards to investigate/penalise. Mercedes are not impressed. Gives a lecture on yellow flag etiquette at the post-qualifying press conference.
Daniel tries it around the outside at the 1st corner
Kimi makes it difficult for Max to pass.
Max makes it impossible for Kimi to pass, later.
Lewis wins in the slowest speed possible.
German GP
Nico duly takes pole with a single run in Q3.
Has a terrible start and gets swallowed up by the Red Bulls who started in the 2nd row.
Crazy Max takes Dan around the outside.
Max and Nico tangle. Nico gets a penalty.
Dan has a nice sprint in the closing stages to take 2nd.
Lewis wins.
Dan does a shoey to celebrate his podium on his 100th GP start.
Belgian GP
Max delights the scores of Dutch supporters by qualifying in the front row alongside Nico.
Kimi was on form too. 2 tenths off Nico.
Max has a nightmare start and gets entangled in a 1st corner incident with the Ferraris.
Fernando and Lewis starting near the back due to engine change penalties climb up the pack amongst the ruckus.
Kevin loses it at Raidillion and has a big crash, red flagging the race.
Kimi and Max have several close shaves due to Max’s red mist defending. Kimi impersonates donald duck on the radio.
Red flag costs Hulk and he ends up 4th at the flag.
Fernando finishes an excellent 7th, keeping some fast cars behind.
Nico wins after leading lights to flag.
Daniel and Lewis round out the podium.
Mark does a shoey
Italian GP
Lewis knocks it out of the park to get pole by half a second in qualifying.
Esteban makes his first Q3 appearance in the Haas.
Seb does a wild and spectacular looking lap to beat Kimi by a tenth.
Nico nails the start. Lewis gets swallowed up by the pack.
Dan puts a monstrous out braking manoeuvre on Bottas.
Jenson and Fernando have a little dice.
Nico wins, leading lights to flag. Lewis completes a Mercedes 1-2.
Singapore GP
It's Nico's turn to smash all comers in qualifying. Gap between the Merc teammates is so big (0.7s) that Daniel just about manages to slot his Red Bull neatly between them.
Oh and the small matter of Mercedes having solved the mysterious lack of pace at this track in 2015.
Unfortunately the man who is usually very fast around this place doesn't get to participate as his team elect to give their competitors an easy ride. So he tries to beat them on three wheels. (need a better photo!)
Force India, Williams and McLaren get their arse handed to them by Toro Rosso in qualifying.
Hulk doesn’t even get to the first corner this time, getting caught in another 1st lap incident precipitated by a slow starting Max.
Race director gets a marshal to run for his life during the restart
Daniil having so much confidence in the car and between the walls all weekend, gives Max a taste of his own medicine.
Kimi passes Hamilton’s Mercedes. Ferrari strategists restore their team’s rightful place behind Mercedes by giving the place back via strategy.
Red Bull take a final strategy play with Daniel...Mercedes sell Nico down the river and ask him to hold on tight.
Daniel drives like his pants were on fire to catch Nico, setting a new lap record in the process making up a pitstop worth of time in 13 laps. Nico holds on though, winning by less than 0.5 seconds in the end.
(sorry not accurate, this pic was from qualifying...but it’s how I imagine it...pace was close to the 2009 refuelling cars...very impressive but those tyres were destroyed at the end)
Malaysian GP
The future retirees celebrating JB’s 300th GP start in the McLaren motorhome modelled into a pub. Felipe likes cake.
Great stuff.
He isn't one of the very all time greats.
But anyone who thinks he's crap needs their head examining - as your excellent post proves.
The man had an awful lot of good drives in the locker. And Hamilton and Alonso (two definite all time greats) aside, is remembered as a considerably better driver than every one of his team mates.
He isn't one of the very all time greats.
But anyone who thinks he's crap needs their head examining - as your excellent post proves.
The man had an awful lot of good drives in the locker. And Hamilton and Alonso (two definite all time greats) aside, is remembered as a considerably better driver than every one of his team mates.
Amazing as always Dr Z! That Canada 2011 race is one I'll never forget and is one of the reasons why he is my favourite driver of all time. I watch the whole coverage of that race from start to finish on the most uncomfortable sofa ever but it was worth ever second to see him win. Really going to miss him from the grid this year but hopefully he'll pop up in RX
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