Excellent first post. Thanks. I hope you stick around. Welcome to the forum and all that. Introduce yourself here if you like. Or not, as you see fit. Yes - in many ways Button is still the same goofy kid (and I'm not being Americanish here, he was!) who gave ITV post-race interviews when he was driving for Williams and Renault all those years ago. One of the main things about Button is that, despite years and years in the doldrums, he still shows how much he loves racing, how enthusiastic and happy he is.
Another old 606'er here, hopefully some might remember my old mock commentaries? Loved every minute of the racing today, and some of the non-racing (marshall falling over). Superb drive from Button today; if this F1 was an rpg video game, it's would seem Button leveled up in recent races. The one thing I really disliked about the old 606 (haven't looked around this forum too much yet) was all the Hamilton vs Button nonsense there used to be. How about just being a McLaren fan if you like one of them and just be happy there are two drivers in that team who can pull off stunning races like we've seen today from Button!
Welcome to the forum Ruining and mdh1982, and to echo the others, excellent first posts. Whilst I do remember Button letting the money going to his head a bit when he was young (a little bit of a playboy if I recall), he has matured, and developed into an excellent driver. I'd like to think that Hamilton will follow the example that Button has set. Hamilton came into the sport and was very good at the whole "thanking the team" thing, then he became a little cocky, he's now having a spell where he's being criticised, and now hopefully he'll mature, and we can have a few years with 2 excellent British drivers at the top, and a fascinating prospect in di Resta, who I think is really impressing this year, and I'd love to see him have a go in a more competitive car.
Welcome to the forum 'Ruining', 'mdh1982' and 'Justjazz'. It's great to see such well-balanced views, particularly as début posts!
My reservation about Button has always been that he's a bit dull to watch but he's driven three of this year's race in this gritty, exciting way and I now expect to see more of it; he's becoming great fun to watch. And forcing Vettel into an error gives him maximum kudos. Weclome to not 606, JustJazz
Gosh, this is a polite forum. Very refreshing vs the BBC 606. And no stupid posts that I could see on this thread, just genuine opinion. Hope it stays like it.
Hi All Been reading for a while, so though I'd register and post a few thoughts on and around what was a simply fantastic race. You might be able to guess I am a Mclaren fan , leaning towards Lewis more than Jenson if I had to choose between the two. However I like to try and be realistic - the only driver I come close to disliking is Vettel and that's borne more out of my frustration of his dominance than anything else (car or driver or both is a whole new debate!). OH and the finger, I hate the finger. So anyway, the race : Button = legendary drive to secure the win. Hats off to the guy, he thoroughly deserves it and I am genuinely happy for him to take the win and continue to push Lewis as a team mate. I love the fact that they race and that Mclaren are willing to let them race. Yes it can end in tears (and it very nearly did for them both) but seeing them go toe to toe is genuinely exciting. Lewis has been frustrated himself and is honestly frustrating to watch at the moment. The past two races have been unfortunate, a combination of over zealous driving and I think, in particular reference to the crash with Button, a little bit of bad luck. I wouldn't want him to ever change his style but I do believe he would benefit for having one or two "calmer" races to bring things back into line. I was terribly disappointed to see Schumacher lose out to Webber. I think he deserved a podium after putting on such a good show and I sincerely hope that this is the start of his comeback proper. People have been a bit premature in bashing him in my opinion. A rookie can come in and learn with no preconceptions, but Michael has had to unlearn everything and relearn. Perhaps I am being kind or just not understanding it fully, but these cars are very different to what he was used to. Still his performance was a glimmer of hope... Ferrari, well nice to see them pushing and especially nice to see Massa having some pace. Got to admire his commitment to keep pushing right up to the line in grabbing 6th place. There's a man with a point to prove I think. Alonso, well he was a little bit cheeky with Button, either one of them could of been taken off but I have no doubt he will bounce back. If nothing else, I hope he takes points off Vettel to keep the championship alive. Sadly I think that RedBull, in Vettel's hands at least, are just still too dominant. But for his mistake (he is human after all), he basically had another victory sorted, which is ominous for the rest of the field. The only consolation is that this mistake may fire the contenders up and have them push him harder... is it also worth considering any effect it might have on Vettel mentally? (probably not, he still extended his lead after all) There is loads more I could write I think, Kobayashi continues to do well and I think it was a real shame that Perez was not up there in the mixer. He could of upset a few of the bigger names too and I hope he will be back fighting fit for Valencia. Anyhow, best get back to work, looking forward to contributing
Yes, welcome to the forum, Mclarwum, a generous and balanced appraisal of the race. I'd like to add to special mentions for Petrov and Alguersuari for mature, tidy drives that were a credit to them both while more experienced drivers were repeatedly in the wars in those treacherous conditions. This is especially true for Jaime whose seat at Toro Rosso is rumoured to be in peril.
it's funny because in most cases Hamilton puts his nose in a narrow gap and some one closes the door it is usually Hamilton's fault, but Button has every right to close the door and get his nose in at Montreal 2011. Anything to stop Vettel winning and keep some interest in the season. The stewards are obviously biased against Schumacher, Hamilton and anyone that doesn't make the top 10 shoot out. During a race blind eyes will be turned towards anyone that battles Vettel in an attempt to keep the spectacle interesting. Button's attritional victory was weak. Alonso, Massa, Hamilton DNF. Rosberg lacking pace. Best driver by far Schumacher followed by Kobayashi. A safety car parade brought into play Maclaren's intermediate wet set up was a joke. Button like Massa was all over the place in the wet 0-15 laps if the track hadn't semi dried he'd have been in major trouble. F1 is a joke sport after watching MotoGP and last weeks BTCC those Ginetta kids race better.
Superb contribution McLarwum. Welcome to the forum! With that sort of assessment, it is clear that you have a lot to offer this forum. Thanks for committing yourself to becoming involved. This place is getting richer by the day!
Welcome to the forum This place really is growing now and all the new views are great. Hope to see you around as often as possible
Welcome Mclarwum- think this weekend goes down as a classic even despite the gap in the race, loved it!
You know, the prolonged red flag period was a significant part of what made this a classic race. I've no idea what kind of fans or how many of them got bored and switched off but with the internet the way it is these days, between this forum for us and other forums for their members, Twitter and various live update services, the sense of being part of a global experience was much greater, in my opinion, than these occasions used to be, even as recently as the Malaysian GP or for the Brazilian GP qualifying session in 2009. The expectation and excitement ramped up and by the time the race restarted the eventual outcome (in terms of being a classic race, not the actual result) seemed unavoidable. 27 of the 127 overtaking manoeuvres were Button's and his pace and aggression were as spellbinding as his drive in Brazil 2009. I'll remember it as one of my all-time favourite races.
