Features

Button a worthy champion

Author: John Harris
Date: 20/10/2009
Formula One betting

Jenson Button finally wrapped up the drivers' championship with a race to spare by finishing fifth at the Brazilian Grand Prix and completing a fantastic story for Brawn GP.

It is only just over seven months since the team was formed by Ross Brawn, the former technical director of the Honda team, after the Japanese giants opted to withdraw from the sport.

Amazingly Brawn's racing debut at the Australian Grand Prix in March ended in a one-two as Button was followed home by team-mate Rubens Barrichello and it turned out to be a race that set the tone for the first third of the season.

Button, who is already the online betting favourite to repeat his triumph in 2010, went on to win in the rain-ruined race in Malaysia and was also successful in Bahrain, Spain, Monaco and Turkey, with the only blemish coming in China when he finished third in a race Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won.

However, after winning six of the first seven races of the season, Button has failed to emerge victorious in any of the next nine Grand Prix.

No-one has been able to put together a consistent run of form though with Mark Webber, Vettel and Barrichello all threatening to challenge the Englishman without ever really putting together two good drives in a row.

After winning in Shanghai, Vettel looked set to be Button's main rival when he was victorious in the British Grand Prix, but his team-mate Webber then picked up his first career success three weeks later when he won the German Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton won in Hungary but, after the McLaren team's woeful start to the season, the 2008 world champion never really had any hope of retaining his title and, although Button could only finish seventh, his lead was still 18.5 points.

With Red Bull's challenge faltering, Barrichello won the European Grand Prix to put some pressure on Button by moving to second in the standings and, after Kimi Raikkonen won in Belgium, the veteran Brawn driver was also successful in Italy.

Still Button remained in charge and, with Hamilton securing his second race success of the year at Singapore, the late charge of Red Bull was too little too late despite Vettel's victory in Japan and Webber's success in Brazil.

Despite his late wobble, Button is a worthy champion. He has won more races (six), secured more podium finishes (eight) and been on pole position, with Vettel, (four) than anyone else, and showed in his drive at Interlagos that he has the talent and temperament to come up with the goods when it really matters.

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