As one leading figure put it recently: “Jenson is going to get murdered.”
This must be hard to take for a driver who has just fulfilled his life-long ambition and become Formula One world champion. But Button and Goddard may have only themselves to blame for the stark comparisons being made between his talents and character and those of the whirlwind who will occupy the other side of his garage this year.
This sort of talk was the inevitable baggage that came with Button’s high-risk and still puzzling decision to leave Mercedes (formerly Brawn) and head for “Hamilton-land”. Yesterday the man originally from Frome, in Somerset, was in the heart of that strange country as he settled in for his first full day at the futuristic McLaren Technology Centre outside Woking, in Surrey, where he met the mechanics, engineers and designers who are putting together the new car — the MP4-25 — that McLaren hope will take them back to the top of the Formula One tree.
Like all new drivers arriving at teams in the charmed life of the pre-season, Button was full of positives, just as Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen were before him at Woking, and he certainly gave the impression that he does not believe Hamilton is about to tear him apart.
His theory is that, with the world championship box now well and truly ticked, he is going to be a far more relaxed character this year who can focus on what he does best and enjoy himself, too. Button argues that he needed to move on from Mercedes to fire his ambition and now, he says, his determination to repeat the feats of last year is more intense than ever.
“Maybe if I stayed where I was, it would have been harder to get a second title — maybe I wouldn’t have been so motivated,” he said. “But moving to where I am now, I think it’s really motivated me. It is a big challenge but something that excites me and something I am going to work really hard on achieving this year.”
Button knows, however, that the dice are heavily stacked in Hamilton’s favour, at least for 2010, simply because he has to get to grips with a whole new team that Hamilton has been a part of for more than 12 years.
“I’m not going to say he starts with a big advantage,” Button said. “I will say it’s all new to me with the team and I’ve got to get to know a lot of people and how they work, which is going to take a little time. Hopefully we will be ready for the first race.”
The sniping and the unflattering comparisons have been going on throughout the Christmas break and plenty of people out there still feel that Button’s claim of needing “a new challenge” does not quite ring true. What, they ask, was the real reason for his departure from Mercedes?
Button, as is his wont, has never been riled by it, or at least has never displayed irritation, and he was true to form on this score on Thursday. “I’m not one for answering back. There is no point for me in doing that,” he said. “The important thing is I’m confident in my ability and I think everybody is entitled to their opinions.
“When I decided to join McLaren and partner Lewis, I knew it was not going to be easy but it is a challenge that I am very excited about. I don’t feel I need to prove anything to anyone. People’s comments don’t change anything — the only way it will be changed is on the track this season.”
What happens at McLaren will form part of what many hope will be one of the most exciting seasons in recent Formula One history, with Alonso taking on Felipe Massa at Ferrari, Michael Schumacher returning at Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel, who has been tipped for the title by Kimi Raikkonen, the former Ferrari driver, leading the charge at Red Bull.
This supposes that all four teams will produce competitive cars. As far as McLaren are concerned, Button is impressed by what he has seen. “I have a feeling we will produce a good car for 2010,” he said. For his sake and the sport’s, let us hope he is right.
No comments:
Post a Comment