Button and Schumacher are drivers that are very much alike in ways. Jenson Button struggled in his early years in Formula 1, 2003 was a fantastic performance from the team - and 2006 was even better for Button bringing home his first win in Hungary. As Honda became Brawn, Jenson became a World Champion. He kept his cool head on and his experience in the sport became evident in the first half of the season as he set the bar very high for the likes of Redbull and Mclaren winning 6/7 races and finishing 3rd in one. Blood - sweat - tears and criticism had amounted to Jenson becoming the 2009 king of Formula 1. Mclaren quickly snapped him up, and he moulded straight into the British superteam with the likes of Lewis Hamilton. 2010 turned out to be the "expected result for Button", he finished behind Hamilton in the standings with 2 wins in the bag as the season was not so special but more so solid. 2011 was something else, he finished 2nd in the standings as Hamilton took the back seat with a mediocre 5th for the team. His wins came early this season, Australia and Canada in particular were races that will be imprinted in history as one of his greats, he whipped Lewis well and truly this season. For me, Button is a growing foundation stone of Mclaren. A solid driver with capabilities in the extreme conditions. He is not the youngest driver on the grid nowadays, but his consistency and experience is needed for the development of another world beating car at Mclaren. As he has proven he can surprise more often in a season. Which is where I move on to Schumacher, a 42< year old seven time world beater, driving in the 2nd coming of his career for the Silver Arrows against younger stars. We do say the best technique to check if a driver is doing well is to compare him to his teammate, so lets take this into account when summing his 2 years at Mercedes. 2010 was nothing special, after 3 years out of the sport Michael was bound to be shot to pieces by his younger countryman Nico Rosberg, his best finish was a surprising 4th at the Spanish, Turkish and Korean Grand Prix. Rosberg did much better, a good consistent year, avoiding penalties and silly mishaps allowed him to pull away from Michael, who was grappling at straws for his dignity. 2011 however was much different for the Mercedes duo, not so much for the performance of the team as a whole, but of the inter-team battle that was raging towards the end of the season. Michael picked up the first 2 points for the team in Malaysia, but things soon took a turn for the worse including the Monaco GP where an engine failure cut his race short. Nico's season picked up after the duo's shocking start to the year. Canada 2011 arrived. A torrential Grand Prix was at hand, and the Mercedes team started well down the field, Michael behind his younger teammate. A series of good decisions and experience allowed Michael to wrestle the MGP around his teammate, the Mclaren's and Webber, as well as Kobayashi and Massa in one overtake. Schumacher was soon up to 2nd position and a second behind the 2010 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, sending shivers down the spine of the F1 world, in many ways reminiscent of the 1996 Barcelona race. A series of torrid races were at hand though, Hungary was the dip in the mid season battle, a DNF after a brilliant start by both Mercedes ended the German's race. Then the Belgian Grand Prix arrived, here after starting last on the grid, a 7-8 place Mercedes was planted 5th by Schumacher, a dedicated drive saw him repeat this in Monza, where a long battle with Hamilton was cut short by the young Brit's frustration at the ruthless/retro defensive maneuvers from Michael. Singapore was the scene of another DNF, as well as Korea - a series of collisions with a Sauber and Renault respectively cut his race short wiping good potential points off the chart. Japan a race between the DNF's and India where stages where Michael once again proved his ability behind the 2011 spec F1 car, solid races and great pace saw him finish ahead of Rosberg. Michael finished only 13 points behind his teammate, compared to the massive 70 in 2010. 5 DNF's where the deciding factor against Rosberg's 2 this season, where Michael could have shown us what he is made of. Which brings me onto his future, if Michael did have the same DNF's Rosberg, would he have been beaten by Rosberg in 2011, and if so.. by the same margin as 2010? Rosberg had a brilliant season in 2010, but this did not secure driving prowess in Formula one, bluntly put his margin was cut short by a middle aged man in his second year of his comeback by 60 points in 2011. Which may have made 2010 look insignificant for Nico. So performances by Button and Schumacher show they are improving ever so slightly, one driver captures and throws his teammate behind him, and the other catching his ever so quickly - bound for the improvement of a decade in 2012? Time will tell. Critics will criticise, but both drivers have bags of experience behind them, and will use it to their full advantage to help manufacture a car that can break records and win titles. Only time will tell for both Jenson and Michael, former champions of the world, and no doubt potential champions of the world one more time. please log in to view this image Thanks for reading. *Moderators, please do not merge this thread, it took time and effort to write. I will appreciate it thanks.
Can it not be merged with all your others? Joking aside (harmless banter and all that), Schumacher did seem to be getting something together in the second half of the season. Also worth nothing he had 3 more retirements than Rosberg which didn't help the points tally. However, Mercedes will not deisgn a WDC winning car and neither Schumacher or Rosberg have what it takes to bring them up to Vettel's level. A win is not out of the question for a German in a Mercedes during 2012, wouldn't like to say which one would get it though.
Rosberg has not been given the car to prove himself so unfair to judge him against someone of Vettel's quality.
fluck me thats a thread and a half MSC , so you think that either schumacher or button will win the WDC in 2012 -- think vettel and alonso may have something to say about that bud --
Evidently a fair amount of effort has been put in for this thread, which is always nice to see. However, I'm slightly confused as to what we're supposed to be discussing?
I think amongst the general seasons review and excuses for Schumacher, there was a question about whether Button & Schuey are going to continue to improve during 2012. Is a difficult one to spot though
he is nowhere near being the fastest driver, things simly worked out for him. the tyres which wear out have helped him to stay out longer and cath others later in the race and the DRS (worst invention ever in the historu of the sport) has taken almost all skill out of overtaking so all drivers can pass cars that are slower like nobody's business. i dohnt want to see this type of racing, i want to see drivers pushing it to the max throughout the race, not looking after their tyres and waiting until the end, just makes the sport boring
You'd think with the lack of skill in passing nowdays, That Lewis would be able to do it without crashing? Button also doesn't stay out later more often than not, he was trying it at first, but it often failed (like turkey)
He says this after the two most exciting seasons since the turn of the millenium, with plenty of non-DRS-assisted wheel-to-wheel racing. Would you rather see a repeat of Abu Dhabi 2010 where the laws of physics prevented Alonso from passing a vastly inferior car? And the overtaking thing, come off it, they all have the same opportunities. Button finished second in the WDC, what more do you want?
If drivers were to 'push it to the max' throughout the race, their tyres would explode. Tyre preservation has always been a part of F1 ever since it started and is a skill that should be admired. I'm not sure what you're getting at with this whole 'waiting to the end to overtake' idea. There are many, many examples of Button's overtakes in many different stages of the races, here's a few I liked... Canada on everyone India on Webber on the 1st lap Turkey on Rosberg on lap 21 (after his excellent dual with Hamilton) Monza on Hamilton and Schumacher within a lap of catching them Hungary on Hamilton, another excellent dual
I can't see Button or Schumacher having any title success in 2012. The opposition (and that's not just the drivers) are too strong.
these were definately not the two most exciting seasons since the turn of the millenium! 2010 was good because redbull weren't allowed to run away with it, but this season ahs just been dull. a championsip based heavily on a car which no one was ever going to be able to touch because vettel had the best car by miles, i and im sure many others could not wait for the season to end. and there was some non-DRS overtaking but nowhere near the amount of overtakes with DRS. most of the overtakes were just boring, at leat with a normal slipstream the car has to outbrake the car in front instead of cruise past half way down the straight. they do all have the same opportunities fair enough, but they dont overtake with skill, just with a button and it has taken most the excitement out of F1.
Fair play EMSC a lot of research has went into putting this together so it's a tad harsh some of the comments you've received. There's a point to most of your content but I really wonder about your final summary... Surely Schumacher has fulfilled his potential, long ago, with his 7 WDCs? Can't see either winning another one (but we've already got a thread on that so I shall not expand further!)
I've always said that Button didn't join McLaren for money or to win WDCs (not that he would turn down either, obviously). He went there to show that he ranks alongside other British World Champions. Two seasons in he's 17 points up on Hamilton, and won what many people consider to be the best race in the post-Senna era.
Thank You for reading my thread guys, it took me ages to write to be fair. What I want to say is that I am not guaranteeing that both drivers will win in 2012.. but expressing that they still have much potential. Barrichello in 2009 for example, gained a shock win (forgotten the race). If a world beater is designed by Mclaren or Mercedes, then what is to stop both drivers performing once again?
Thanks Sam, that proves my point. He is an experienced driver with top fitness levels, so why should similar drivers such as Button and Schumacher not have the potential to win again, Button is a brainy driver - he thinks things through when a race is played out, same with Michael who holds lectures with his team when racing. I am sure that their intelligence will not go a miss when developing the 2012 car. A fast driver is not always a great one, but a driver that can manage three things at once when racing at 200mph is special.
