I think Lickorish makes some good points in his opening post here. 50% of Button's wins in changeable conditions shows that he really does read those types of situations amazingly well. Racing on a circuit (a real one which is not in my living room) which offers different levels of grip each lap is a real skill in itself and something he clearly excels at. Poor old Felipé Massa is the almost exact opposite. Button is the 'Change-master'.
What is this fascination with saying Felipe Massa is rubbish in the wet? He had one poor race (Britain 2008) where he spun 5 times, but Kimi spun 3 or 4 times as well that day, meaning the Ferrari's wet weather setup was really poor. Nobody mentions Lewis Hamilton spinning about 7 times in china a couple of years ago. Blatant favouritism.
I was in the top 1000 or so on Forza 2 and even had a few top 300 times (much more realistic sim when you factor in having to get the calculator out to set the car up right) and I would in no way ever lend my experimentation of different driving styles in the game to start giving advice on how an F1 WDC should be driving. I think Jemson has enough engineers, sim time etc to know himself how he goes fastest
Have to agree here. Massa and Kimi's wet woes and Lewis' wet heroics in 2008 were more to do with the car I feel. Even Kovi spanked the Ferrari's when the rain started falling. This looks like someone who is more than capable of beyond coping with the wet with the right car. [video=youtube;RRLp6eSLtdI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRLp6eSLtdI[/video]
I know he's far more qualified than i am, but it was just an experiment. Nothing too serious. I should have mentioned that my times, although slower, were more consistent, and i made the tyres last a lot longer. I think Jenson Button, when he's retired from F1, would be the ultimate Le Mans Series driver. his smooth style would reap huge benefits at the Le Mans 24 hours. He'd show McNish and Davidson who's boss.
Perhaps you've not been watching some of the other occasions Massa has been trying to come to terms with the wet? As Lickorish suggests, Button excels in the wet, whereas Massa struggles as much as pretty well any other driver out there. Hamilton is very good in the wet but does not match Button in changeable conditions which are the most difficult to predict.
Cant wait when a few of this crop of drivers start transcending into sportscars. Imagine a 3 man LMS team of Lewis, Alonso and Vettel. The car would be wrecked after the first 2 hours but only after having lapped the entire field
I've watched every race for the last 10+ years. I've only ever seen one poor wet performance from felipe. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology though, drivers don't seem to struggle so badly in wet condition anymore. Gone are the days of one driver being 5 seconds a lap quicker than anyone else. Back to changeable conditions, Button does seem far better than any other driver in them, which is weird. You'd assume that somebody like Michael Schumacher would be able to get the biggest advantage in those conditions, because of his incredible analytical ability.
If anyone's interested when I go karting I really have to throw the kart around, if I try to be smooth it just understeers. Whats this thread about again? Oh yeah, JB winning in the wet. Once your in F1 you probably have your driving style set in stone. You could try to change your style but then your wasting a minimum of 10 years practice. Jenson is still in the chasing pack so his style is clearly working this year
I'd love to do endurance racing. Just you and a couple of chums versus the world. I'd love it even more if Corvette Racing offered me a job.
I sense jealousy of the great man. He was well known for being able to read conditions, and know when to make certain alterations on the car.
Yup, Corvette for me. The sound of that V8 is astounding. Driving the C6R (ZR1 now) has been a fantasy of mine for a long time. Spoiled slightly as I feel the move to GT2 has noticibly diluted the whole experience of the machine.
The problem is that the rules keep getting changed to further differentiate the prototypes from the gt cars (after seeing the two audi crashes at le mans, both caused by gt ferraris, this may be a bad move, making the performance gap wider). We know that Audi sport team joest will win, could you leave all the regulations alone please?
I know, i've screwed up, i used the past tense instead of the present tense. I doubt he's forgotten, don't people get wiser with age?
About this thread, it's rather pointless. It asks "can jenson button win in the dry" and then the writer lists dry races that jenson button has won. Surely that answers the question. Yes, jenson button can win dry races.
Yes, I think you're right: it is diluted now. But as for the sound, did you ever hear the V10 Panoz? It is the real Batmobile and makes the Corvette sound like a gurgling baby… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U86lf-LRXiE&feature=related Please note: apart from the Ferrari, the other cars on the circuit have full race exhausts too but they are all but silenced the Panoz.. Watch it right through to the end. It'll make your blood curdle!
Firstly, good article Stephen. It's quite shocking to hear this, but you are correct in saying that Bahrain 2009 was the only victory he had to truly fight for. You make a good point about Button's lack of dry wins recently. Button has built up this reputation of being the master when it comes to racing in changeable conditions. That in itself shadows whatever he achieves in the dry to a certain extent, but the underlying fact is that Button's last dry win was over two years ago. I like the fact that you've done a closer examination of his five dry wins, however I don't believe it proves that Button has a "dry weather problem". The main reason being his performances recently in dry conditions have been good, even though he hasn't converted them to victories (his car is mostly to blame for that). Also, if we compare Button to his rivals: Sebastian Vettel has won 14 dry races, and out of those: Twelve wins either from pole or leading at the end of the first lap One win where he inherited the lead One win thanks to strategy Lewis Hamilton has won 13 dry races, and out of those: Ten wins either from pole or leading at the end of the first lap Two wins where he inherited the lead One win where he made overtakes and fought hard Most of their wins came either from pole or leading at the end of the first lap, just like Button. I think the best test of dry weather performance would be to see how quick their car is, and then look at their race result - although this is not always accurate due to safety cars, different strategies, mechanical problems, etc.
