http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/8187085/-Button-held-his-own-against-Hamilton- Just came upon this article and wondered what F1 fans on here would make of it. Somebody in the comments underneath says there is only five points difference between them in three years at Mclaren which I find amazing. I'm nickhcafc by the way some of you might remember me as I was the first one here many moons ago, locked myself out of my other account so had to had to make another one a few months ago
Interesting read. My problem here is that it seems to be based on statistics without really looking at the big picture here. Just because Button has had almost the same amount of points as Lewis over the past couple years doesn't mean that they are equal. I think Button is a good driver, but I don't think he is the same caliber as Lewis if I'm being honest. Not to take anything away from his WDC, but to me his a driver who is only really good when he has an amazing car, otherwise he is just ok at best and he seems to complain and make excuses to much when he is driving poorly. Its also debatable, but I have felt at times that Button is the more favored of the two drivers at McLaren, so I feel as if Lewis has had to deal with some BS there. Besides the fact that Whitmarsh really isn't all that great of a team principal (also IMO). I'm also not the biggest Lewis fan, but to say that Button is as good as him is almost an insult honestly. As much as it is said over and over again, I really feel like at the moment, the best 3 drivers in the sport are Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso (no specific order there) and that everyone else sort of gets grouped into their own tiers of quality.
3 years is a long enough period to compare drivers. While statistics never tells the whole story i think that a difference of less than 0.1 of a point per race over 54 grand prix is enough to blow a hole in any argument that Lewis is head and shoulders above Jenson and thats certainly not what was expected by most in 2009 so in many ways he is the winner. His stock has risen, Hamilton's is at best the same as it was then. His reward is the big chance to lead McLaren next year. Should the gap be a bit bigger, in fairness probably because Jenson due to some bad luck on Lewis's part wasn't punished enough for the 6 awful races in the early-middle part of this year and general struggles with this years tyres (his fault of course, since he obviously couldn't adapt well enough, but it gives hope that a wider operating range in 2013 will improve his lot). Overall though the conspiracies tell you all you need to know about Jenson being a serious threat.
Due to the fact that both drivers like their car set up and designed differently, we never got a chance to compare the two of them in what they each considered their ideal car. Perhaps we'll be about to find out?
Considering that they have both driven for McLaren for the past three years, i think that brutally neither is really the winner here. You do not drive for McLaren to win the odd race, you drive for them to win championships Both have had their fair share of bad luck but the times where the results where not coming was largely their own fault (Hamilton self destructing from monaco onwards last year, Jenson's terrible form for the bulk of the European season this year). If Lewis had not got himself involved in collisions at the end of 2010 he could have been champion, while based on his form at the start and recently if JB had not tried to be to clever with set up from Spain onwards he could be beating Lewis in the championship now. IMO both of their reputations are not any better than when their partnership started, but i'm sure some people would think I am being too harsh!
Actually, I align with your stance the most. Neither have really done themselves any favors with their respective performances over the past couple of seasons. Still, I think Hamilton is the superior driver, but like I've said I'm not really a huge fan either. No offense to the British media, but it always overhypes drivers (just like with youngsters in football) and it is clear that nowadays a lot of journalists seem to love Button.
While i get the point they've failed to win a championship i dont think they can really be blamed for that. Sure Hamilton lost points in Monza and Singapore of his own doing, but that was in a year where Alonso, Button, Webber and Vettel all dropped big points at some stage. In a title battle that close you can find a scenario where any of them should have won it. Lewis drove a great season that year because the McLaren had no right being a contender. I do agree he's lost out though in reputation simply because the second title is taking too long. As for Jenson you need to look more in depth at how he was rated in 2009, A lot of people didn't think much of him. A fair number said he'd make kovalainen look good. He's proved at least that he belongs at or near the top. In general i would blame the team for a lack of championship success rather than their driving talent. 1 title since 1999 with drivers like Hakkinen, Raikkonen and Alonso to name some others is really not good enough.
In F1 you make your own luck. Statistically, the drivers are pretty even, performance wise, the drivers are pretty even.
I think Hamilton is the better driver but I also believe that Button is better at playing to his strengths. Its not always about how good you are, its about how you use that skill. This season has been a let down for Hamilton, a let down that has almost entirely not been his fault. McLaren built him a good car but then through either pitstops, strategy or reliability have ruined what could have been a wdc for him. I'd say this season has been Hamiltons best, fast but also measured. Buttons season has been average. I'd say he peaked in the latter half of last season and that Button would be close to Hamilton this year on points, but thats relying on Hamiltons bad luck of this season. I like them both and respect their respective talents, but if pushed I'd say Button did hold his own against Hamilton, but in a not entirely fair fight. p.s. Hello nickhcafc, long time no speak!
I hear people say this a lot, and really it's absolute cac (sorry mate). I'm not sure I can think of another sport where an individual is so dependent on as many team personnel, component manufacturers and other competitors in order for success. When a 50p bushing can be the difference between winning and losing, or a flying french man can start your title charge on a downward spiral, you're in need of a hell of a lot of luck. Same goes for all forms of Motor Sport.
If they'd had a Mclaren which had the sort of dominance the RBR had in 2011 I'd put my money on Button to come out on top, not because he's the better racer, but because he's the more consistent at bringing the car home without the need for a tow truck, it's very rare for Button to make a mistake which will put him out of the race, the same can't be said for Lewis. That said, I think Lewis has driven better this season than any other season, it's just a shame that the car/pit crew have let him down so much.
For me the invincibility of Lewis has worn off after 07 with him going up against Jenson, 2010 they were equal...ish 2011 Jenson creamed him but this year Lewis has served him back with bad luck included. 2010 IMO was the one year when they had equal performance and "luck" and it was pretty close and it just depends how each one adapts to the car the quickest and stays there all through the season. In a perfect world Jenson is as good as they come but F1 and life isn't perfect so you need a "imperfect" driver like in the top 3-4 to keep going with more stable results rather than hot and cold spells. Lewis in my eyes will remain the better of the two, but Jenson will always be close behind the top 4 (Seb, Alonso, Kimi, Lewis) just like Webber and Kubica.
This... Most "elite" F1 drivers when they have the car setup to their liking will drive it damn fast! However I believe the likes of Lewis, Seb and Fernando are able to drive around any issues they may have with their cars and still extract a decent lap time/race performance, In 2009 when Brawn had the fastest car, Button was unstoppable, however, when the performance dipped and/or the others caught up, he was barely finishing on the Podium!
Hi mate, and also to Eternal Msc. Will try to contribute a bit more on here again, not sure why I haven't been checking much this year really. I think the dynamics with Button and Hamilton are quite interesting and I wonder if some stories will come out next season after they are safely away from each other. I have a pretty good source close to Button who seems to suggest that he is not to impressed with Lewis lately, as for Lewis have no idea at all apart from that Twitter spat which seemed a bit odd. Five points difference though seems to me to show that despite their different styles at the end of the day the results are pretty much the same.
When Hamilton and Button were paired up, generally people seemed to be split into main 2 camps. One group thought Hamilton would dominate, the other thought it would be close. I'm not sure however that anybody predicted that Button would effectively drive Hamilton out of what was effectively "his team". In retrospect now I wonder if Alonso regrets some of his actions in 2007. I've always thought that Alonso could have been smarter about his reaction to the Hamilton/FIA provocation in Hungary and had he handled it better and maintained a good relationship with the team that he would have won the 2007 and 2008 championships. It's hard to extrapolate beyond that point but it's not inconceivable that he would be getting towards Schumi type numbers by now had things gone differently. From a McLaren perspective also I believe they backed Hamilton absolutely thinking he would drive for McLaren for the duration of his career, in retrospect also, perhaps that looks like (another) poor management decision...
Lewis has made a very smart choice coming to Mercedes, the 2014 regulations will suit them when they come into effect. If Lewis keeps this form he wont have to worry about anything as the engineers will do the rest to get another crack at the WDC + WCC. But he better understand that he isn't at McLaren anymore and he better not **** around! The board demands results...
How do the 2014 regs suit Mercedes? I'd have thought the Mercedes powered teams stand to lose the most in 2014 as they may not necessarily have the best engine any more. I also can't see why Mercedes would necessarily have the best chassis under the new rules?
To be fair, Mercedes do have the highest budget of the engine manufacturers, so they can make the best possible engine.
