Not for the first time, Jenson Button’s F1 future suddenly seems a lot shorter than many of his fans would like. In the face of a potentially premature departure from the sport, we think that we should only focus on positive times, so here’s a run-down of the top ten Jenson Button and McLaren moments.
10: McLaren Young Driver Award (1999) – Tasting F1 Machinery
Many people would probably think that Button’s first taste of a McLaren F1 car was during the winter testing on the eve of the 2010 season, shortly after his switch from the title-winning Brawn team. However, his first taste of life at McLaren (and his first in Formula One machinery) was back in 1999.
After a very strong season in the British Formula Three Championship, he was awarded the ‘McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award’ which included a prize of a test drive for McLaren. A combination of this and another test for former F1 team Prost Grand Prix resulted in Jenson Button getting spotted and called for a test at Williams. Button won a direct ‘shootout’ for the seat against Formula 3000 driver Bruno Junqueira and was handed a Williams drive for the 2000 season.
9) 2010 Chinese Grand Prix – Calling the shots
Famed for his ability in the unpredictable conditions, Button elected to stay on slick tyres in the early .Sp5rl!47rs of the race despite a sprinkling of rain which encouraged many others to switch to intermediates. Despite the intermediates initially being the faster tyre, Button persevered and reaped the rewards when everybody else realised their error. He soon overtook fellow beneficiary Nico Rosberg for the lead and managed the gap to recovering team-mate Lewis Hamilton masterfully and took race victory to lead the Driver’s Championship by 10 points.
8) 2010 Italian Grand Prix – Keeping the tifosi tense
Although he only finished second, the 2010 Italian Grand Prix was one of Jenson Button’s greatest ‘nearly’ races, and almost a triumph for adverse strategy. When Formula One arrives at Monza, it’s normally accompanied with a host of ‘Monza-spec’ aerodynamic components from the constructors, with the most obvious update being a skinny rear wing. Button and McLaren, however, opted for a higher-downforce set-up, which put them on the front row of the grid. Being able to generate more downforce off the line, Button took the lead and held it for over 30 laps with Fernando Alonso shadowing him all the way. Button was finally undone by being jumped during the pitstop window by Alonso, but followed the Ferrari man all the way until the end. It was a strong effort by Jenson, but it was a demonstration of his versatility and his out-of-the-box thinking.
7) 2012 Australian Grand Prix – Taking on Lewis
The 2012 season would ultimately prove to be a missed opportunity for the McLaren team, but Jenson Button got them off to a flying start by taking victory in the first race of the season to take the early lead in the Driver’s Championship. Above all, it was a race where he gave further indication that he could take the fight to highly-regarded team-mate Lewis Hamilton, beating him off the line and leading for much of the race. He controlled the race well after a safety car restart to take his 13th career win and his third victory at Albert Park.
6) 2010 Turkish Grand Prix – Keeping Lewis honest
For the majority of the race, it looked like a certain Red Bull 1-2. However, when Vettel and Webber collided in that infamous incident, this left the McLaren duo of Hamilton and Button to take an easy lead. With less than 10 laps to go, Button challenged his colleague and temporarily took the lead, before Hamilton was able to repass at the following corner. Apparently, Hamilton had been told to turn his engine down, something which either Button ignored or wasn’t told. Either way, Button wasted no time in attempting to pass. Regardless of finishing second, it was a key indicator that Button wasn’t about to conform to the opinion that Hamilton was the better driver, showing that he was totally prepared to take the fight to his team-mate.
5) 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix – Proving his worth
In one of his best seasons, things just seemed to fall into place for Jenson Button. At the circuit where he claimed his first win, he claimed win number 11 on his landmark 200th Grand Prix after prevailing in the changeable conditions once again. It was a race that kickstarted his charge to second in the Championship, only finishing behind the behemoth combination of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.
4) 2011 Japanese Grand Prix – Fighting Back
He began the race weekend with the honour of being the only man still mathematically capable of beating Sebastian Vettel in the Driver’s Championship, but with Vettel only needing one point from the remaining five races, nobody was in a hurry to bet on an upset. Regardless, Button set about remaining as one of Red Bull’s most consistent challengers. A good start from second place only resulted in being strong-armed off the circuit by Vettel and a loss of places.
Despite the setback, Button’s demonstrated his smooth driving ability to preserve his tyres and gradually catch and take the race lead after stopping later than Vettel in the second round of stops. It was one of the more significant victories for Button in a country with which he has close ties, being the home country of current partner Jessica Michibata and former employers Honda.
3) 2012 Belgian Grand Prix – The solitary pole
This was a landmark weekend for Button where he finally claimed his first pole position for McLaren and went on to command to race victory with considerable ease, leading every lap in the process. The only thing missing from the weekend was a fastest lap, which would’ve completed the ‘Grand Chelem’. That minor point aside, it was one of Button’s best dry-weather wins, which some would consider to have put him temporarily back in the title race of a topsy-turvy season.
2) 2010 Australian Grand Prix – Marking early intent
In only the second race of his McLaren career, Jenson Button was placed exactly in his element. The race started in wet conditions, but with very little rainfall, it didn’t take long for drivers to think about the switch to slicks. However, whilst everybody was still thinking about it, Button had already made the switch. It seemed absurdly early for slicks, and this was almost completely proven when he slid off the road in the first few corners after pitting.
However, as others waited patiently for a safer time to pit, Button quickly got his tyres up to temperature and began setting the fastest laps. After everybody else had reacted, Button was up to second place, several places higher than where he was prior to the stops. A Vettel retirement may have gifted him the lead, but his pace was enough to control the lead and take a surprise first victory for McLaren.
1) 2011 Canadian Grand Prix – His finest hour
Well, what else could it really be? It was a remarkable race for Button, and evidence that anything can happen in Formula One. It was a difficult first half of the race for Button, verging on terrible. He was involved in a collision with Hamilton on the start/finish straight, was given a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car and contact with Fernando Alonso which spun the Ferrari driver into race retirement, giving Button a puncture. Despite all of that, though, he was on a charge from falling to the back of the field.
Having managed to generate more performance from his new slicks than the rest of the field, he scythed his way up into second place, chasing down runaway leader Sebastian Vettel. With just one lap to go, he was within one second of the Red Bull and reeling him in. Trying to respond to the pressure, Vettel half-spun with half a lap to go, gifting Button the lead and race victory. It was an unbelievable result in a race where he was involved in six safety cars, a two hour rain delay, a drive-through penalty and a puncture, Button produced one of the best race comebacks of all time. A true drive of a champion.
What other great McLaren/Button moments do you remember? What would you add to the list?
