This post is just for JRS. Other people should ignore this post.
JRS, you will notice that that comment was made BEFORE he won the world title and decided to prove himself at the highest level.
Note: I've taken the liberty of all the compliments directed towards Button, to show that I give him credit where its due.
Up to that point, what exactly was his achievment in F1? 1 race win was it?
I call it, as I see it. If someone does something great, I will call it. You will notice that whenever there is a race result prediction of a wet race...who's name do I put at the top of the list? Clue: starts with B and ends with N.
Proof:
My Predictions
Wet/damp Race: Button, marginally ahead of Hamilton.
The reason for this is that
he has proved that in wet races he can use his cool/calm head to make inspired decisions. If memory serves me correct, his first win came in wet/damp conditions as well. This year when we had 3 out of 4 races, wet: Button was leading the title race.
All this suggests that the guy is one of, if not the best, when it comes to wet race performances.
Similarly,
after Button won 6 out of 7 races, look through those race threads and see if you can find me saying anything derogatory. I dare you.
When he won the world title, try and look for any derogatory comments from me, regarding his performance that season. Yes he was outperformed by Barrichello in the 2nd half of the season, but
winning 6 out of 7 races in the first half of the season, warrants a world title in my book. He won the title fair and square as Hamilton/McLaren simply didnt turn up in 2009, which isn't Button's fault.
Before 2010 started, I expected (and still expect) Hamilton to outperform Button. The trend since we have had no rain, has been exactly this. I stated pre-season that
Button will be the best No.2 driver in F1, as he is steady and makes few mistakes - these are the qualities you look for in a No.2 driver. This is not a derogatory statement as
only 2 drivers in F1 could force Button into the No.2 position. It just so happens that Button has been paired with one of those 2.
Button has more courage than most F1 drivers. Very few drivers would ever want to join McLaren and go head to head with Hamilton, as McLaren is focussed around Hamilton. Even Alonso realised this and got out of McLaren as quickly as he could. If I were an F1 driver, I would NEVER join McLaren. Similarly, I would never have joined Ferrari, while MS was there. But
Button has shown that he has "balls". (Compliment to Button.)
Conversely, when Button had a poor start to his career, punctuated with photos proving his playboy lifestyle, it did nothing but convince me that this guy was in F1 to collect a fat pay-check. The proof was in the average results he was attaining, allied to the fact that he seemed to be avoiding the challenge of pursuing a move to a front running team, where he would be up against the likes of Alonso. In the past, all top drivers have sought out the best cars possible. The risk when a driver does this is that it can show him up as being a great driver or a poor driver and usually end his career. Michael Andretti was the best example of this. This might've been the likely reason why Button didnt want to put himself out there.
I still believe that pre-2009, he
was a journeyman.
Having found himself in the best car, he put it to great use and won a title. He finally got the confidence to move to a front running team, where he would rub shoulders with the best and be compared directly to Hamilton and Alonso. I do not believe he had the confidence to do this before he won the title.
Every single opinion of mine has been based on fact. If Button or any other driver does well, I will say so. If they do poorly, I will say so. If a driver does well, I'm not going to say he was poor. And similarly, if he is poor, I'm not going to say he was brilliant.
I'm a great admirer of Alonso (based on the fact that he broke the strangehold MS/Ferrari (twice), and effectively put MS into retirement), but after he crashed out of Monaco (practise) and after his poor race performance in Turkey, I was highly critical of him. A driver of his callibre shouldnt be crashing out in practise sessions. Even though I rate him as joint best driver in F1.
Hell, I even defend drivers who I dislike. I have a secret dislike for Vettel, yet I defended his move in Turkey, as I felt he did nothing wrong. You would never have guessed this, if you read "that" thread.
If Button beats Hamilton fair and square this year, I will certainly place him in the absolute top tier of F1 drivers. It would be impossible for me not to. I even stated this before the start of the season, but until then, he cannot be considered on the same level.
After sports people achieve something, their admirers grow and people hold them in higher esteem, but until they do achieve something, they are just another 'also-ran'...harsh, but true. Until Button won 6 out of 7 races (in 2009), he did nothing of note, and as such, my opinion of him was low. This opinion which I
had is something you are clinging to. As drivers/sports-people achieve, their stock improves. This is what has happened with Button.
JRS...I think you have to move on and not cling to opinions said about certain drivers, before they actually achieved anything of note.
