I hope so... but I don't think we'll really know 'till a couple of races in. I don't think it can be much worse than than '11 though. *runs of to find a nice piece of oak to knock on*.
Me too, don't like him but he's a great driver and I hope he's back to his best to give us all a good show. I do think he needs to sort out his manager, sack the show business stuff and get back to driving the car.
He started fairly well last year before it all fell apart. As a McLaren fan I obviously hope what ever went wrong last year doesn't occur again. I'm also hoping for Button to start quicker this year rather than build up throughout the year
Lewis has prooved every year in his F1 career that if something doesnt go right then the whole lot falls down. This could so easily happen again this year if Button has a good start.
I think it's unlikely that we'll see a repeat of last year but once it started to go wrong it just snowballed so I suppose it's possible. I think the off-season break will have given him the time to straighten his head out and I expect him to be tightly focused on restoring his reputation and trying to get another title. So, an optimistic yes then. But will the car be good enough..?
I can see Hamilton dumping his management if he has another poor season. I think he'll be better this year though.
As Hamilton doesn't seem to care much how the car is set-up, I would imagine Button could be even stronger this year. Mclaren know more about his driving style, and how he likes the car set-up, so I imagine a lot of work will have gone into this years car to make it as easy as possible for Button to find a setup he likes. If it's worked, I think he'll be just as quick as last year early on. More success for Button, coupled with a tangle with Massa in the first few races, could complete undo any psychological gains made over the winter break, and leave him in the same mess as last year. I don't think so myself, although I'd love to be proved wrong, the more competitive the season, the better.
Of Course . I think if it wasn't for Mclaren telling him to do 1 run in Monaco then he may have had a better season. Ever since that he didn't look himself apart from a few great races.
It couldn't get much much than 2011 so yes. Where it all went wrong last year was Q3 Monaco and not getting a lap in the bank. Plus a less stable rear end with the ban of the blown diffuser works heavily in his favour. Just think of the Silverstone race last year (before he got the fuel is critical message).
I am a big JB fan, but feel that hammilton will be back to his best this coming season! The only issue I can forsee for Lewis is, if he has contract issues and potentially sees himself elsewhere then things could be different for a number of reasons. Hope he and jenson have a great battle with both on top form!
I want a Vettel vs Button vs Alonso vs Hamilton battle where 1 car isn't dominant, now that would be a dream.
Was then about to make this point after reading DHC's post. I think Jenson will struggle with this year's regs whilst Lewis may thrive. Personally I hope he has a great season in a crap car and then joins Red Bull for 2013.
Button was doing quite well at Silverstone before the wheels came off, so I do not see why he will struggle next year.
No I can't see why Jenson would struggle either, especially as his confidence must be sky high right now and he's got the team's confidence and support too. Lewis's faltering confidence was a big factor in his failings last year, those good results at the tail end of the season must go some way to rebuilding it. I just hope, as Bando suggested, that the media aren't polishing their knives as they know Lewis's weakness is oversensitivity and they may believe they can break him again. He does make a good story.
My belief is that Jenson's great finish to last season will work against Lewis, but that Lewis will definitely be closer to his earlier form this year. I do however believe that if he has another frustrating year, he might consider his options with Schumacher's contract running out.
I think Jenson's performance last year did shock Lewis but he did seem to have got over that towards the end of the season so I'm hoping it won't be a problem for him this year. I mean, last year he didn't expect it, this year he will. I agree though that he may consider a future move to a team which will focus more on him as a lead driver. Whether he'd actually make the move, I'm not so sure; McLaren has been his life so far.
