Formula One news
Button: "The car is a big part of it"
19 June 2009Jenson Button admits that, regardless of driver skill, having a quick car is the primary necessity for achieving success in Formula One. Despite this, the championship leader also insists that the sport is and always has been one of crucial teamwork, as the Frome star faces a realistic chance of clinching the title this season.
 |
| Button and Lewis Hamilton make up an all-British press conference on Thursday |
After seven races of a season, a championship lead larger than Button's current 26 over team-mate Rubens Barrichello has not been matched since Michael's Schumacher's advantage of 33 over brother Ralf in 2002; notably, however, Michael reeled in Fernando Alonso's 25-point mid-season lead of 2006 to nothing with just two races to go. Although mathematics state that Button can be beaten, the fact that the second-placed man is driving the same car can only be a good thing from the Englishman's perspective.
 |
| Button can win the title even by finishing second in all remaining races |
"If you look at it unemotionally, it's ten points if you win here, it's like every other race," Jenson said at Silverstone on Thursday. "It's a very emotional weekend for a British driver; it would be very special to win my home Grand Prix, but to not put pressure on myself, the great thing is that I will leave this race leading the World Championship still, by 16 points at worst - that's the best way to look at it, but it would be great to have a good race here but so much can happen. I'm just trying to stay relaxed at the moment."
Having run in the mid to lower-midfield last year, does Button believe that the performance only of the car can change a driver's fortunes? "Formula One hasn't changed over the last decade or so, or two decades," he continued. "It's a team performance and when we stop talking about what percentage a driver is and what percentage a car is we can get on with the racing and concentrate on having fun and enjoying it. The car is a big part of it but it's a team effort, it's every single individual and when you win the World Championship you win it as a team and it's the same if you don't do very well, you lose it as a team, and that's the way it has been for many, many years.
 |
| Button's win at Istanbul Park was his most dominant of the season so far in 2009 |
"We all want to be in a good car but it's also for us to try and make that happen. It's taken me a long time but I eventually got there in the end - it's a great sport and when people turn the TV on, I think they look for good racing and there has been some good racing this year within the pack and I'm sure it's going to be as competitive throughout the season.
"I think it's also good that there are other teams involved now; for many years it's been Ferrari and McLaren and also Renault winning the World Championship and now there are other teams that are fighting at the front with those teams and I think that is good for the sport and I'm sure that, over the next few years in motor racing, those top teams are going to be there but they're going to include Brawn GP and they're going to include Red Bull and that's what the sport needs. We need a lot of teams that are fighting at the front that are competitive. It's no good just one team winning the World Championships year after year - I think it's great that there's so much competition out there, year on year."
more news
- 28 Nov.
- 27 Nov.
- 26 Nov.
- 25 Nov.
- 24 Nov.
- 23 Nov.
Homepage
Jerez