Jenson Button, world champion . . . really

They laughed when I said earlier this year that Jenson Button could win the world championship.

One of those laughing, mind you, was me because I never really deep down figured that Button – one of those guys who’d started more than 100 Grands Prix and had only won a couple – would really be able to do it.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jenson Button, facing, embraces teammate Rubens Barrichello as they celebrate with mechanics after Button won the Formula One World championship during Brazil's Grand Prix on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009.

But Button had such a huge jump on the rest of the field this year that it was really going to be hard for him to lose. His team, Honda, were so outclassed last year that they gave up mid-season to start development of the 2009 car. Although Honda eventually dropped out of the sport, the designing and engineering of the new car remained sound and when Ross Brawn took over the reins of the team he took control of a potential winner.

And then there was the whole diffuser controversy, in which the Brawn GP car’s was deemed legal over the objections of the Old Guard, who then all took until mid-season or so to catch up and by then it was too late to overtake both Button for the driver’s championship and Brawn GP for the constructor’s title.

So it was a combination of a good head start and then a positive ruling that enabled the Button/Brawn combo to wrap up both championships at Brazil Sunday in a race that was won by Mark Webber (Red Bull), with Robert Kubica BMW) second and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) third.

Hamilton’s podium was the result of a spectacular performance in which he started 17th as the result of a poor qualifying effort on Saturday and then carved his way through the field to make it all the way up to third.

Another spectacular run was turned in by Sebastien Vettel, who kept the driving championship interesting the latter part of the season. He finished fourth after starting 15th.

Button was fifth after starting 14th. His race wasn’t as spectacular as Hamilton’s or Vettel’s but he was probably just being careful. All he needed to wrap up the championship was a few points once the race started and there was no reason to take any chances once he got to where he had to be.

All of these championship-calibre tail-enders benefitted enormously when the lights went out and the brains of about a half-dozen of the other drivers turned into cement.

They say that you can’t win a race on the first lap but that is so much mumble-jumble once one starts because the red mist takes over and rational racing drivers suddenly turn into cowboys.

Heikki Kovalainen, likely driving his last race for McLaren, went sideways shortly after the start and hit Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari.

Meantime, Jarno Trulli – normally a mild-mannered and polite fellow – went bananas in his Toyota and took out both Adrian Sutil in his Force India and Fernando Alonso in his Renault.

So while they were cleaning up the carnage on the circuit, Kovalainen wnt into the pits and the left with his fuel hose still attached (he, apparently, was told to go) and fuel splashing all over the place.

Kimi Raikkonen, driving his last race for Ferrari, also pitted at this point and was following Kovalainen out. His exhaust set the fuel from Kovalainen’s hose alight and suddenly the Kimster was in the midst of a flash fire. Thank goodness he had his visor down.

Nobody was hurt but there was certainly excitement and all of a sudden Button, who had started 14th, was running ninth and he hadn’t really done anything to deserve it.

At that point, it looked pretty certain that – barring disaster – he was going to pick up enough points to win the championship and that’s exactly what happened.

The race in Abu Dhabi in two weeks will be for bragging rights only but that’s okay.

Who wants to talk about a world championship fight when we can discuss whether Flavio Briatore will be reinstated in time for the 2010 season, and whether or not Nelson Piquet Jr. will be back in F1 as a driver for Adrian Campos’s new team?

Both are possibilities, you know.

Briatore will go into a French court Monday to officially launch a lawsuit against the FIA and Campos says he’s in negotiations with Piquet the younger.

So even though the season’s almost over, and the championships have been decided, there will still not be a dull moment, going forward.

Comments

[DJL]

"Kimi Raikkonen, driving his last race for Ferrari"

Huh? Does this mean that he won't be driving at Abu Dhabi?

[allenparkpete]

Strong rumor following the race was that Mark Webber had his named changed to "Jenson Button" so as to say he was actually mentioned by the BBC crew during the telecast. You wouldn't have known Webber was even at Interlagos.

Now an apology. I was one of the few who ripped Norris early in the year for his less than stellar opinion of Jenson Button as a driver. Having watched most of the races this year I have to agree (now) with Norris that Button is a good driver but not a world championship calibre driver. Sorry, Norris...you were right.

His teammate outperformed him drastically in the latter half of the year. Button got lucky. Lewis Hamilton, today, showed that he is worthy of that title and the star of Interlagos was actually Robert Kubica even though he got scant mention. To take a crapwagen like the BMW and grab 2nd place tells me that if he were Button's teammate, Jenson could star in an Austin Powers movie as No. 2. Fits him well.

[ultranol]

Both Finns will still drive one more time for their respective teams... come on Norris, you even mentioned Abu Dhabi.

[Don Mahony]

I was shocked to see there was no mention of the F1 race in the main newspaper's sports section. I would think that crowning a world driving champion and a manufacturer's crown would merit some coverage.

[moof]

Qualifying coverage, with most of the down time edited out was shown on Speed in the wee hours of Saturday night. No blackout on Bell.

"Trulli went bananas ... and took out ". That's a pretty serious accusation. Trulli was (and still is) angered after being pushed of the track by Sutil at 160mph, and the car lost control when the car bottomed out on the curbing, sending it back onto the track colliding with Sutil. It was Sutil's car that subsequently took out Alonso, not Trulli, who had already hit the wall.

In spite of the fuel line still attached, the lollipop was raised and Kovalainen left the pit stall.

[DJL]

Giving the devil their due, the BBC did mention Webber quite often. Unfortunately, the camera feeds (over which the BBC have no control), spent very little time focusing on Webber or Kubica. The cameras spent their time focusing on the passing (of which Button did a lot), and the race for the championship. Same as last year, where the cameras spent much more time on Hamilton than the race leaders. For better or worse, the Championships were the main story. At least this way, with the Championships decided, the coverage at Abu Dhabi should be all about the race.

[Tri2win]

Jenson Button may be some race fan's idea of a winning driver, but he'll never earn the nickname 'Zipper'.

[matchlessman]

Jenson Button is nothing more than a journeyman driver. He failed to do anything to warrant a world championship after mid-season. Barrichello and Vettel (as well as several other drivers)showed him up badly for the second half of the season. Brawn should enjoy their laurels for as long as they can. All the usual suspects will be back with a vengance next March. Jense won't be anything but another mid-packer in '10. Right where he belongs. His championship was proof that the car matters more than the driver.

[George]

Counterpoint!
I must be the only one here who actually enjoyed this F1 season, apart from the politics. There was tremendous competition at each race and even qualification was exciting. I think Jensen deserved the title (most points and won races) and ran a smart season with an excellent team, car and engine. The big players, Ferrari and MacLaren were often caught napping. Jensen did more passing during the race in Brazil than we see in total for most F1 races and once he was in position for the title, did the smart move and stayed out of trouble, which shows me that he has matured to be worthy of a champion. The BBC feed did mention Webber's progress frequently, so I must have been watching another race, but I thought it was one of the most exciting of the season.

[Edward Palys]

As I have maintained all along, there is too much emphasis on the world driving champion. The true emphasis should be on the genius quality of the men who develop world championship cars, like Ross Brawn and Adrian Newley. Both have demonstrated tremendous talents in car design and developments that made some drivers "worthy" of championships. Why are Red Bull and Brawn F1 at the front of the pack today, despite total oblivion just a short time ago? Certainly not because of the drivers, I would say.

[Exchange and Mart]

Button is just super talented. With all the talent, fame and fortune he still seems rather humble. I appreciate the fact that Jenson funded his own flights to and from the races and was only given a private jet (ironically Rubens’) after Brazil in order to come back to England and celebrate with the team. http://bit.ly/1WmpXt I hope they get the contract extension signed pronto…

[Female F1 sort-of Fan]

George, I don't know what races you were watching but this was one of the most boring F1 seasons I can remember. Was there any overtaking? Jenson drove as safely as he could each race just to finish in points, not to be a winner (although he lucked out a few times) I think there was some overtaking once or twice but when people are posting things like "Wasn't that great when Kimi got the ice cream and Diet Coke?" I'm thinking, this is dull. I've been watching for over 30 years and I long for the days of Jacques vs Michael, Kimi vs everyone etc. when there were agressive moves and passes.
The politics really blew it for me this year, I got tired of caring after a while but I do believe that all sports, including auto sports, are cyclical and we can still anxiously await some exciting years to come. And I think with the right team, Jenson may prove his worth, but then, maybe not.