I didn’t say it rained all race long.
Changeable conditions with heavy downpours is enough to throw any motor race over the edge into the realm of luck more than judgement. Sure, skill plays a role, and I am not denying Button is skilled.. just that he is overrated by some of the people commenting here. But we seem to have some common ground there.

I heartily agree with you on the “we’ll find out” but, and am counting the days until the next season.

In unrelated news I just committed to a brand new KF2 Kart for next year and have just spent a great day testing at our local track.

Also from a very reliable (Finnish) contact I have heard that it’s not all over for Kimi next year either…. But I’ll leave that hanging here in this totally unrelated thread and see who picks it up. You heard it here first.

Hungary 2006 – I have the race on DVD and watched it again yesterday after reading what you wrote.

It wasn’t heavy rain all race with pot luck.
It was on and off rain all race long with some dry patches and some pretty wet patches.

You are right that Kimi crashed out in front of him, as did Alonso but Button was catching Alonso at the time and was really REALLY quick that day. Easily the vest driver on the track, and defintately not lucking into a victory.

I’m not trying to suggest that Button is the bees knees but you are making out like it was some sort of Steven Bradbury moment which is far from the truth.

But you know what, I guess in 90 odd days at Bahrain we will find out who the man is!

do you think the world champion is going to put himself in a situation where he can get humiliated?

It wouldn’t be the first time a defending champion moved teams and found himself looking very silly indeed. Just look at what happened to Damon Hill at Arrows in 1997 – leading the Hungarian GP (albeit with substantial assistance from Bridgestone) was a highlight, but for most of the year Hill was being matched by the less than mighty Pedro Diniz near the back of the field.

Nelson Piquet left WIlliams at the end of 1987 for Lotus. Although new team mate Satoru Nakajima was never going to be a threat, Piquet spent the year as an also ran overshadowed by the McLaren steamroller. He never looked like winning a race for the team that fellow countryman (and bitter rival) Ayrton Senna had won races and challenged for titles – a real humiliation for Piquet.

Although Emerson Fittipaldi wasn’t world champion when he joined family team Fittipaldi Automotive for 1976, the Brazilian (misguidedly) kept the faith and never won another Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve also showed less than stellar judgement by joining BAR for 1999 and failed to score so much as a single point.

World champions don’t always make the smartest decisions when it comes to moving teams. By moving to McLaren, Jenson Button will face the biggest challenge of his career – in 12 months we’ll know whether he has been brave or stupid.

When Schumacher signed up with Ferrari for 1996 he knew he wouldn’t be challenging for the championship straight away, that he was helping to build the team and he received a very good salary for his efforts. In the end this resulted in unparalleled success.

As I said I am a fan of Button and don’t think he has been disloyal to Brawn as Fry has accused him of being, I only mentioned Buttons contract problems with BAR and Williams in 2004 and 2005 because you said he had shown 7 years of loyalty.

I just think that we have to go back a long way in F1 to see an example of a team and driver sticking with each when there are better offers on the table. Drivers want to be in the best car for the most money and teams want the best drivers.

Also we have seen Hamilton race against teammates given the same opportunities as him and he hasn’t done that badly.

tyres do got worn from running in a straight line

Erm. Yes they do.

Smooth driving will be critical next year, the extra weight of fuel will cause havoc on tyres. Hamilton is not known for great car management skills, so we’ll have to see how it pans out.

Lewis will come out tops, but I think it will be a lot closer than expected. I just never understood Mclaren, why have two really good drivers if you’re only going to support one?

Listen to any commentator, or any F1 pundit, or any driver who now commentates and they will explain very very clearly, as will I, that when the rain is that heavy on a circuit it is completely pot luck whether an F1 car aquaplanes or not.

Jensen got lucky that race. Period. Sure he won. But he didn’t beat anyone. That’s the difference.

Put yourself in Button’s situation, he has just left a team he has been with since the end of 2003 and just won the drivers championship with practically the same team, do you think the world champion is going to put himself in a situation where he can get humiliated?

I am big Button and Hamilton fans, and to see them at the same team is going to be great and interesting, as you can not really compare drivers with each other unless they are in the same equipment.

I just don’t understand why Button is getting so much criticism, he is World Champion how many drivers who have raced in F1 can say that? Does that not suggest that they have some sort of talent, something more than the others around them?

Could this happen to Jenson Button in 2010? Quite possibly – it happened to Keke Rosberg in 1986…