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[oaba09]

:spaz: there were contenders in 2011?

Contender may be the wrong word because of seb's dominance but he was definitely the best of the rest during that season

[CookinFlat6]

The contenders had to push beyond the limit and resort to risky gambles to try overcome the advantage of the Seb/RBR package.
Button was runner up by default as the others had problems. He is in the lower half of the grid for speed and needs others to drop out ahead of him to do well.
Last race for example, he required drivers in the top teams to have problems to come 6th. He is consistent and gets points but has never challenged for a WDC without having a massive car advantage. Heidfeld was the same but even more consistent and better and is very unlucky to be out of F1 when he would have done a better job with the Brawn in 2009 had he lucked into the position.

[Hammer278]

:spaz: there were contenders in 2011?

Contender may be the wrong word because of seb's dominance but he was definitely the best of the rest during that season

Yeah, he did a good job driving the car around and finishing in the points while others were trying too hard to catch up to a dominant Redbull, since those guys were more interested in winning the Championship and not just come in 2nd place. No one remembers the guy in second place, and unlike Button, other guys are racing not just for the cash but also for wins and ultimately, Championships. It's what keeps them driving at the edge of adhesion, and in a year like 2011 more risks are taken to try and close in while the Sunday beach drivers are able to cruise around and wait for the guys in front to DNF to collect the pieces.

[CookinFlat6]

Consistent finishers are good for poorer teams. At the top teams more is needed, challengers who can bring time to any car not just test drive without crashing
Heidfeld was most consistent finisher ever but that didn't get him a top drive and he couldn't find a seat, just like Button was facing before Brawn saved the team.

[Nin-Chin]

All I can say is,McLaren underperformed,and Button is not a special team leader he's just an expierenced guy who won the championship with a very competitive car,who thinks he's one of legends though there is nothing really special about him,he struggled midway through last year,needed his old teammates help to sort his issues out,and now he's leading it,so I wasn't expecting much.He's good but nothing too special.

[CookinFlat6]

All I can say is,McLaren underperformed,and Button is not a special team leader he's just an expierenced guy who won the championship with a very competitive car,who thinks he's one of legends though there is nothing really special about him,he struggled midway through last year,needed his old teammates help to sort his issues out,and now he's leading it,so I wasn't expecting much.He's good but nothing too special.

Unfortunately I dont think its just that he cant lead them forward, its actually that he takes teams backwards, drains their resources and leaves them floudering no matter how money they have.

Why? because he is never happy with a car unless its perfect for all tracks and all conditions, and wont just admit that he is unable to drive fast withyout perfect balance.

If you look at the gif in my signature, thats a car going round a corner on the edge of instability. Imagine the same car going around that bend with no oversteer but taking the racing line? It would be much slower. Now imagine having to design a car that goes round that corner as fast but still with no understeer and with perfect balance?

Its an extreme example but thats Button

[What's Burning?]

OMG you'd think Jenson Button was the only driver on the grid. At this point I'm going to start to pity support him.

[Hammer278]

What i've been doing for a while now in this thread is pity-supporting him.

[1Lemon]

What i've been doing for a while now in this thread is pity-supporting him.

[CookinFlat6]

I will pity support him once he leaves McLaren

[racechick]

Pitying is the slippery slope!!! I find flashes of it flittering round the edges of my consciousness!!

[CookinFlat6]

Jensons latest interview with Formula1. With snaketalk to English translation by me

We do know that teams sometimes go through difficult times - and for a team like McLaren it’s not the first time - but it has also learned to pick itself up again and carry on. And sometimes in this process you get better results again than you had expected.

Its has been positive screwing up this year - it really worked at BAR

Ha, calculating and doing the best that I can in the way I think is correct. When I arrive at a corner I brake at the braking point - others brake past the braking point and go off the circuit and try to beat their car around. That’s different to how I do it, meaning racing also works with less aggressiveness…

Its ok to be a slow driver

Well, supposedly Lewis (Hamilton) is the quickest man on the grid, but I scored more points over the three years we were team mates, so I obviously must be doing something right. I don’t analyse it, I just go about my racing the way I feel is correct.

Scoring overall points is more important than challenging for WDCs, and dnfs etc must be because a driver is fast

As far as I am concerned, I can say that I’ve got the maximum out of the car and that feels good enough for me. And looking at Checo, on occasions he has been really quick - look back at Bahrain. He is still learning - he listens a lot in meetings with the engineers and then he looks at my data as well. He is very willing to learn.

I have got more points despite Sergio ben quicker, he has benefited from my data

I always found it difficult being close to a team mate. You want to beat them. Sure, you could be two-faced, be nice to them all the time and then give it to them on the track, but that’s not my style.

My style is to be nice to them all the time then give it to them off the track

Well yes, I feel that I am a good fit for McLaren - possibly for the next couple of years. But I’m not the one to answer that.

I am desperate for a new contract

[What's Burning?]

Q: When so-called experts rank the very fastest guys on the grid, your name is rarely mentioned. So what is the secret of your success if it is not speed? Brains, emotional intelligence, what?
JB: Well, supposedly Lewis (Hamilton) is the quickest man on the grid, but I scored more points over the three years we were team mates, so I obviously must be doing something right. I don’t analyse it, I just go about my racing the way I feel is correct.

I've seen this same "logic" on the forum. Yet I've failed to find a single sport that carries a point tally over multiple seasons. Help me Obi Wan Kanobi.

[Hammer278]

Well, supposedly Lewis (Hamilton) is the quickest man on the grid, but I scored more points over the three years we were team mates, so I obviously must be doing something right. I don’t analyse it, I just go about my racing the way I feel is correct.



Yes because an F1 season consists of 3 years, and Lewis never suffered multiple DNFs while in leading positions

[CookinFlat6]

Q: When so-called experts rank the very fastest guys on the grid, your name is rarely mentioned. So what is the secret of your success if it is not speed? Brains, emotional intelligence, what?
JB: Well, supposedly Lewis (Hamilton) is the quickest man on the grid, but I scored more points over the three years we were team mates, so I obviously must be doing something right. I don’t analyse it, I just go about my racing the way I feel is correct.

I've seen this same "logic" on the forum. Yet I've failed to find a single sport that carries a point tally over multiple seasons. Help me Obi Wan Kanobi.

Yes, you know that, I know that. Its telling when a sportsman has to cling on to such explanations to prove his credentials. He is not even bothering to pretend to be a challenger for WDCs on merit, he is just looking for acceptance as a not completely bad driver.

Which is fair enough for a rookie or a back of grid journeyman, but not as a lead driver in a top team

'I must be doing something right?' For a driver in F1 yes, but not for a player, not for a McLaren driver.

Can you imagine Kimi saying ' I finished more races in a row than Seb so I must be doing something right and Im happy with that'