The curious case of Jenson Button

[myurr]

Hamilton even overheating the primes after just a few laps, going to be very very lucky to hold Alonso off to keep even a podium finish despite Alonso qualifying 11th. They have massive setup issues this race showing just how poorly this new free practice strategy has worked for them. Yet I expect some will still try and defend it and say it's for the best for the team, even though Button is STILL outside the points and they've only succeeded in hindering Hamilton.

[myurr]

@bhallg2k - still think that McLaren did the best thing for the team? Button finished off the pace in 8th, and Hamilton was slower over a stint than Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus, and Williams. You could possibly even include Mercedes in that but it's harder to tell with their counter pitstop strategy. So at best they had the 5th best car here, if not the 6th. Lewis really out performed the car in qualifying, but can do nothing in the race when the tyres overheat like that.

The McLaren should be the class of the field in Silverstone so let's see how the team throw it away there...

[GrizzleBoy]

So Button is really not moving forwards at all.

He's been racing slower teams like Williams, Caterham and Force India for the past four grand prix and only got into the points through three retirements from podium positions in front of him and a whole load of drama.

I also dont think this new "collaberative setup" business worked well either.

[JimClarkFan]

You now what, it is just as much a case as others catching up with Mclaren than Button going backwards. Button has never been the best qualifier and in Q3 yesterday there were 10 cars within 0.25 seconds.

What I would expect of Button is that he must go faster in Q3 than he does in Q2.

[PlatinumZealot]

Hamilton is putting the car where it is not supposed to be.. no wonder Button thinks the car is under performing in his hands.

[GrizzleBoy]

Hamilton is putting the car where it is not supposed to be.. no wonder Button thinks the car is under performing in his hands.

Yep, Valencia was a monumental task for Hamilton from the word go, but he fought it all the way. You could say too much, but he probably put up some of the most nail biting fighting (or racing I should say) for position that we saw with Grosjean/Raikkonen/Maldonado all race.

(Interesting fact, till Valencia, Grosjean was the only person to overtake Hamilton on track during a race (bahrain), with Kimi now on the list, he has basically only been overtaken three times. All by Lotus cars. Twice by Grosjean (once more in Valencia) and once by Kimi, no wonder he was calling them his biggest threat )

All through friday and saturday, he couldn't hit the brake without locking up his fronts on almost any corner and his quali position/race pace clearly showed that he was out performing the car.

Even while defending while his car was literally on completely dead tyres, he was doing better vs Raikkonen/Maldonado than I've seen most do on fresh ones.

Its too bad tbh, but after all this it feels like the McLaren is the new dog of the top tier cars and has been behaving as such for quite a while.

If Alonso vs Massa performance means Alonso is driving a dog, then Hamilton Vs Button performance means Hamilton is driving roadkill.

[Nando]

No man can outdrive his own car.

Alonso and Hamilton just exploit more of the potential of the cars. So if they take pole or front row it means the car is good enough to do just that.

It´s another thing nailing your lap, something Hamilton almost did.

Had he and Vettel done Sector 1 identical it would have ment Vettel had taken pole by 0.004 seconds.
Either the car just isn´t quick enough in S1 or Hamilton made a mistake.

the car is far from a dog over one lap though, even in super hot conditions like Bahrain and here, Bahrain where Hamilton narrowly missed out on Pole.

[Shrieker]

If Grosjean's and Vettel's cars hadn't failed and Malfunctionado hadn't malfunctioned, Button would've finished down in 12th making it a third non-score in a row...

I don't think it's worth focusing on Button anymore, if it's hindering Hamilton at the slightest. Button will come back if he can. He won't if he can't, simple as that. There is only so much the team can do; especially when one car is running at the front and the other is trundling around outside of the points. If McLaren want a title, they're already late on putting all the support behind Lewis.

[GrizzleBoy]

Good points nando.

Thats also something I forgot to mention Shrieker. He was literally "allowed" to get back into point scoring position. He has not shown in any way that he can compete in the top ten at any part of the weekend......which feels kind of weird even just typing that...

He's been racing midfield cars/backmarkers for the past four grand prix now. Even before that in Bahrain, he was fighting against Force India (although it was a fairly handly looking Force India).

If you add in Webbers DRS problems during Valencia quali and starting from waay back on the grid, he'd have had yet another session where he didn't even make Q3 to make it four times in a row + four races he finished out of the points. His only chance of points was trouble up front and he got extremely lucky.

Maybe something will magically change in silverstone but this form seems to be far too consistent now.

[PlatinumZealot]

Button has really lost it now, I see deep frustration in him tomorrow and I doubt he'll make it out of turn 1.

[GrizzleBoy]

Failed to make it out of Q1 and once again only just made it into the points due to Hulkenberg having a moment.

Five races on the trot he's been racing against mid field teams and struggling for more than one point.

Unfortunately, his problems seem to be slowly filtering down to the other side of the garage which seems to coincide with their recent decision to do shared setups instead of setting up their cars individually.

[marcush.]

Quite obviously Hamilton can drive around a car issue by default and Jenson needs a bit more time to adapt...Hamilton ended the race not quite miles ahead of Jenson so in the end the reality is the car has fallen back speedwise dramatically in the last months...so was it something they lost on the way or is it the others making up ground andf Macs just starting with a developped car but without much in terms of development potential?

[raymondu999]

Button has really lost it now, I see deep frustration in him tomorrow and I doubt he'll make it out of turn 1.

I don't think he's frustrated as such. Jenson isn't much of a driver compared to the Hamiltons/Alonsos/Vettels, but he's a right person and he is quite determined and will charge to the most of his abilities - despite them not being very high to begin with IMO.

[JimClarkFan]

I was watching some of Jenson's pole laps, Australia 06 and Monaco in particular. For a guy who is considered soo smooth he is super aggressive on both of these laps, climbing all over the curbs which is deemed to be out of character for Jenson. It is so aggressive in parts that it reminds me of how an Alonso or Lewis would drive in certain corners.

Now I'm confused, how it is that a driver can only turn on these kinds of performances on certain days. Jenson never really seems capable of muscling a bad car around a track like a Lewis or an Alonso but that is exactly what he did in Australia 06, or Monaco 09. Is it a case of him muscling a good car which he has confidence in, and an inability to exploit the limits of a bad car?

[Neno]

well in that time you had traction control, you could throw agresivly car in corner without losing grip or car balance. also tires were construsted in way you could push them without losing performances in next lap for couple of seconds. completly different cars, rules and what is most important driving style. button was never before pirelli tyers good preservere of tires, he had his moments on rain, but new modern formula maked possible that even "aho" like him without natural talent for speed win championship.