He was saying the first half of the season there was ZERO competition and Rubens didn't win a race in the first half when no one could touch the Brawn(he was also the no.2 driver by and large... or lets say a long term no.2 driver). When the other cars closed up and were then faster or on par with the Brawn, Rubens won more races than Button. IE when the car qualified upfront and cruised out untouchable they pretty much kept station and finished with Button ahead, with Rubens very very much used to doing that at Ferrari.
When other cars actually put Brawn under pressure, when the two drivers had to fight for positions and when Rubens was required to do as well as possible to stop the competition getting too many points, Rubens wasn't just holding station behind Button, he was driving to try and get max points and he basically did better in the second half of the season than Button.
He was comparing two drivers in the same car, not Button and other drivers, your point is accurate but had absolutely no relevance to what he was saying.
and the fact that when the brawn was the strongest car and JB was easily out qualifying Rubens he was also out racing him as well (hence a lot of races where Rubens may have got 2nd but many seconds behind - but I guess that kind of thing goes over your head
Without even going into the fact that by the 2nd half of the season RB wasnt as much competition for the title compared to Jenson, so other drivers were less bothered about letting him past.
Given how low the budget was at Brawn, it also made sense (when he had such a commanding lead in the championship) not to push un-necessarily (the "50p" part which stopped Damon from winning in the Arrows for instance). Jenson still had a very good race to win the championship from mid pack at the last race of the season (while still having a number of gremlins through the year which didnt help matters)
He was a good driver in his prime. 2009 was well past his prime. JB would never of won a championship unless he had the fastest car. JB is a good smooth driver but he is not a special driver. I'm not a JB hater just a realist. I cheer him on as I like to see our british lads do well.
He kept Hamilton honest for three years in a McLaren (even with two very decent cars) - and over those three years actually won more points than LH.
Guess LH isnt that special either in that case
I have been thinking on this bit for a while since you posted it. Why do you think the cars are more mentally demanding, I would say less mentally demanding than having to manually select your own gear and a box that won't let you downshift incorrectly? Or nursing a car with your own feet rather than a dial selection. Yes there have been dials galore added to the wheel over the years but still very little of that has been done on their own. The selections are given to them, they are just the monkey turning the dial.
I also think because drivers are needed less and less in the set up of cars and even less for developement that they can put younger and younger drivers in the car. Yes they have simulators but that's only because they can't go testing like they used to. I think the ease of the cars to drive has allowed kids with 12 races to jump into an f1 car.
If drivers are just "monkeys" then why arent they all driving a perfect quali lap every single time?
Not only that , its not like its just one dial , there must be 10-20 on the wheel alone these days......and doing this at anywhere between 40-200MPH - not like sitting at your desk and doing it charging into a corner (and braking just the right amount etc etc) without considering the gear changes being done simultaneously with other fingers etc etc.
Just because it was done a different way 10-20 years ago, doesnt mean automatically that (for instance) Graham Hill, Senna, Stewart et al would be able to contend with today's cars (even if they were 20 today)
The advantage Merc have had this year compared to Brawn is well over double and been consistent through the year rather than just starting off well and having no development.
