That's because he was driving an awful, awful car.
I did say he had a crap car, but if he was the ultimate race driver he would have got more out of his car and done slightly better than he did
How far does that sentiment go? "Done slightly better?" Define that. It's such a vague criticism. Button got some amazing performances in by wringing the neck of the truly abysmal Honda RA-107 - I think some of you forget just haw atrocious it was - it wasn't just the paint job, the car was fundamentally and completely flawed from day one. 2006 he put together a race-winning run in the tepid RA-106 and went on to score more points than any other driver from that race on. 2002 he wrestled the appalling Benetton B201 to 5th place in Germany - in a season where the car, lacking power steering, gave Button (Already one of the fittest men in F1 by that point) a shoulder injury because of it's abysmal steering.
He managed a top-3 season finish, bested his team mate five years running, repeatedly reached the podium from lower than tenth on the grid...
What more do you people want? Is a driver no good if they don't win the title within 3 years? What kind of attitude is that? Where has this fantastical image of drivers winning several races in sub-par equipment come from? Nobody in the past decade has ever won a race in a car which was anything less than competitive, barring retirements of better cars. Even then, midfield cars took the wins. It's impossible to win without a decent car. Most F1 races are won by the fastest car over the weekend. Deal with it.
I hear all this crap from people about "oh well Button wasn't getting Podiums in the couple years before Brawn so he's s***" or "well Jenson didn't really contest a title until 2009 so he clearly isn't any good" and I ask you: What on earth are you talking about?! Were you just not paying attention? Do you not understand this sport somehow? Get some perspective! Not every car gives you a shot at wins, few give you a shot at the title. You need luck to be in that position, skill then comes into play. When the luck was there, Jenson won- with a race to spare. And for that matter, where are these mystical top drivers winning in machinery like Button was using? The driver s you all talk about being the best - Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Kubica, Kimi - even bleeding
Massa...Not a one of them ever won a race in a car which wasn't at least competitive.
Most of them started their careers in top teams, all of them spent most of their time in top teams and did their winning there. Why do you not doubt
them? Vettel never did anything particularly special before joining Red Bull - one of the two best teams 2 years straight - because when
he was at Toro Rosso the car was competitive and the team better managed. Him winning for them is nothing like if Jaime did it on Sunday.
Come back to reality folks, we miss you
Why didn't you just say that, instead of being tit about it?
Why don't you ever say anything, instead of just being a tit?
All in good fun.
The Frome Flyer: Smoother, Smarter, Calmer,
Winner.
Jenson Button: Professor, Chauffeur, World Champion Racing Driver.
.
