Vote for your Japanese Grand Prix driver of the weekend

2011 Japanese Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Start, Suzuka, 2011

Who was the most impressive driver throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Review each driver’s race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.

For your consideration

Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend:

Jenson Button – Quick from the word go, thoroughly deserved victory.

Fernando Alonso – Just keeps on wringing the maximum out of the Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher – Good effort to bring the Mercedes home in front of one of the Ferraris.

Sergio Perez – Another very strong performance, bouncing back from a technical problem in qualifying to score points despite being ill.

Vitaly Petrov – Managed his opening stints on medium tyres well, then battled his way into the points at the end.

Compare all the drivers

Review what happened to each driver over the race weekend and compare their performances with their team mates using the links below:

Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher
Renault: Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov
Williams: Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado
Force India: Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta
Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari
Lotus: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen
HRT: Daniel Ricciardo and Vitantonio Liuzzi
Virgin: Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver impressed you the most throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

  • Jerome d'Ambrosio (1%)
  • Timo Glock (0%)
  • Vitantonio Liuzzi (0%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Jarno Trulli (0%)
  • Heikki Kovalainen (1%)
  • Jaime Alguersuari (0%)
  • Sebastien Buemi (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (5%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (0%)
  • Paul di Resta (0%)
  • Adrian Sutil (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (0%)
  • Rubens Barrichello (0%)
  • Vitaly Petrov (0%)
  • Bruno Senna (0%)
  • Nico Rosberg (1%)
  • Michael Schumacher (6%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (13%)
  • Jenson Button (67%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (2%)
  • Mark Webber (0%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (2%)

Total Voters: 533

 Loading ...

You need an F1 Fanatic account to vote. Register an account here or read more about registering here.

Rate the Race: Japanese Grand Prix

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the ‘rate the race’ poll as well:

2011 Japanese Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Japanese Grand Prix articles

    Image © Red Bull/Getty images

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

    Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

    91 comments on “Vote for your Japanese Grand Prix driver of the weekend”

    1. I don’t think there can be any dispute for this, fastest in all three practice, won the race, fastest lap and only 0.009 off the top spot in qualifying. It can only be Button.

      1. I guess you are right. Hadn’t Alonso been beaten by Massa in quali I would have considered him but overall I think Button really deserves it.

      2. Button’s become astonishing and my vote is his.

      3. Button is the best driver in Japan 2011

      4. And I am sure all the Vettel supporters voted for Button as well because they complained when Vettel had a similar weekend and did not win the poll.

        1. Well, yeah, Vettel’s been screwed out of several of these earlier in the season, but that doesn’t mean I’ll change my tack and not vote for the person who deserves it. Button deserves it.

        2. Of course I did. With pleasure ;)

        3. Ha! Judging by the 8 votes I’d say they have!

      5. And I add that Jenson preserved his tyres perfectly in the last stint and let Alonso get closer, but then he pushed ONLY in the last 3 laps to mantain a 1sec advantage otherwise Alonso would have been given the right to use DRS. Quite smart strategy from Jenson ;-)

      6. @Ady Couldn’t have put it better myself! Thoroughly deserved victory for Button, he was on it all weekend.

    2. Immediately after the race I was thinking about this poll and what a hard decision it was going to be.

      Alonso drove a brilliant race to hustle his Ferrari into an astonishing second place, and almost a win. Perez overcame the flu wonderfully to progress through the field and score solid points for 8th place. Schumacher did a great job to finish 6th for Mercedes, continuing he great recent form. Ricciardo brilliantly pushed the Virgin’s on a track where HRT appeared to be much slower.

      Then, I realised that it was a Driver of the Weekend poll, not a Driver of the Day poll, and on that basis it can only go to one man: Jenson Button. Fastest in all the practice sessions, denied pole position by a mere nine thousandths of a second and a brilliantly controlled win on Sunday. He put together the weekend wonderfully and never looked like making an error or letting a chance go. Top drawer stuff once again from Jenson.

      1. I was thinking in voting for Sergio, until i saw weekend driver too.
        So this is easy: JB

        Jenson is driving this season better than when he was the 2009 f1 champion, and was nice to see Nico’s 10th from last row of the grid.
        But in race Perez was “the man”
        And yes, i know Nico started from last row, and perez from 17th place,
        but to able to pass HRT and Vigin cars is no deal for a Mercedes,
        on lap 4 the were 18th and 19th in less than 2 secs.
        Sergio’s Sauber WAS NOT the fastest car at the end of the race (and just 0.001 slower than JB record)
        but that day Sergio WAS the fastest driver on track, even being sick on his first time on suzuka.

        1. better than in 2009!! I would say at that level.
          In 2009, he was driving very well at the first half of the season, after that he stumbled a little.
          He is the type of driver that is very good when the pressure is low. When the stakes are very high, and he sees the chance of a title close, he gets nervous, and drives worse. Alonso is way much better under those circumstances.

          1. Totally agree with JB as driver of the weekend but disagree with the comments about his ability to maintain focus under pressure.

            In 2009 Jenson had a wobble mid season but by Monza he pulled himself together to score enough during the remaining races to take the title with a race to spare. I think he can be forgiven for the nerves because after such a long hard journey in F1 the fear that you could lose your best opportunity to take the title must be incredibly hard to shoulder.

            Rather than showing weakness I would counter that under the most intense pressure Jenson was able to dig deep and find the performance he needed to clinch the title in a car that was increasingly falling away from the Red Bulls.

            A few months earlier he was considering the possibility of never racing in F1 again then he’s suddenly handed a quick car. He and the team knew the results had to come early on in the season because there was no money to develop the car, once the other teams were on song it was a case of fighting a rear guard action and it has to be said that it was a big ask of a driver that had never been in title contention before.

            The first opportunity he had to win the WDC he took successfully. It was a great WDC win despite what the detractors say. Button has plenty of haters, usually Hamilton fans who like to remember Button having it easy with the BGP001 but its total nonsense. The Red bulls were right with Brawn from the start of the season. Anybody remember Vettel chasing Button down at Melbourne before having a spin in turn 4?

            The Red Bulls could have won several races early in the season but for driver/operational errors, Jenson just kept his head better in the early part of the season. The BGP001 advantage is commonly perceived as being greater than it actually was, the Red Bull advantage was far greater last year but Vettel never lead the championship until the last race whereas JB lead from start to finish because save for the mid season wobble, he kept his head whilst all around were losing theirs.

            At Mclaren things are different. They are a powerhouse team and JB and LH both know that if the car is quick from the off it will remain quick all year. The pressure is still there to perform but it’s easier when you’re confident in our machinery, it’s a different kind of pressure. They are safe in the knowledge that the cars will yield wins year in year out so if not this year there’s always next year for the title shot. Also, they know that the team has the resources to tailor the car to suit them so they are in a different place mentally to drivers in less well funded teams with difficult cars.

            Jenson has had his detractors for a long time because he has appeared to struggle at times in difficult machinery but you don’t get to show what you can really do until you’re in a good car. By that I mean a car that is correctly conceived to operate well in all circumstances. Only the top teams can provide this kind of quality to their drivers and this in turn allows the drivers to express themselves more fully behind the wheel. This is why we have seen Jenson able to raise his game since joining Mclaren. Ironing out your own weaknesses is impossible in a car that has lots of problems because its hard to tell if it’s you or the car that’s making life difficult but in something predictable like an MP4-26 you can begin to work on your technique as the car becomes the known quantity because you know that when you strap in 9 times out of 10 the car will go like you expected. This is why Jenson has managed to get on terms with Lewis, the guy who many expected to put him out to stud.

            As the detractors like to say, he certainly is the best No.2 driver in F1. So good in fact that he’s 32 points ahead of the de facto No.1 driver at Mclaren in the championship. Not bad for an undeserving 2009 WDC who only won because of the Double Diffuser.

            1. Great comment – I agree with everything you have said.

              If Jenson needed to prove himself any more to his detractors after his 2009 WDC, he has certainly done it this season.

            2. wow, just to let you know, i didn’t even read that ;)…

            3. Good post, though:

              the Red Bull advantage was far greater last year but Vettel never lead the championship until the last race

              It’s hard to lead the championship from the start when your car breaks down in each of the first two races.

            4. button’ DNF’s were not his fault , without those failures the WDC would still be alive
              hamilton hasn’t had any mechanical failures that I remember

            5. lebesset – That’s because Hamilton has retired before any problems surface! Hahaha!

            6. I like Button for his great character/driver mix. But to prove himself to the “dictators” that his 2009 WDC was not due to double diffusser he would need to win it again with out it, don’t you think.

            7. Lets remember that 3 teams had the double diffuser at the start of the season, half had it after a couple of races and by barcelona most had it and certainly all the teams that matter in the title fight. Also, the RB5 was just as quick without it and when they fitted it they were miles ahead.

              Jenson won fair and square in 2009 and has proven his quality these last 2 years. 2010 to get up to speed with Mclaren and paw through Lewis’s telemetry data. 2011 to get on terms with Lewis and possibly beat him. Check.

    3. Gotta say JB. Clean sweep of practises, only in qualy did Hamilton get near him and Vettel beat him. Kept the pace up and kept the tyresin shape whilst doing a great inlap to beat Vettel at the 2nd stops.

    4. Jenson Button without a doubt. His race victory on Sunday demonstrated several of his abilities – He was calm, collected, preserved his tyres in the second stint, aggressive in the last stint though running out of fuel.

      1. @icemangrins I just learned from that Ted kravitz vid that he really had only 2 kg of fuel left in the car, had it gone a lap further, or without the SC, he would not have made it to the finish!

        1. @BasCB, that was close and it shows how these guys would push everything to the limit to get to the top step. In a way, Sebastian playing it safe also aided his position.. but I wont get this away from him… Stunning drive from JB and Fernando.

        2. That’s not correct. Firstly you wouldn’t want to finish the race with much more than 2 KG of fuel on board as that would mean you’d been carrying unnecessary weight around throughout the race. Also, it wasn’t just Jenson that had the Safety car to content with, everybody did so everybody was able to lean out the fuel mixture for a few laps to save some fuel for a last hurrah at the end of the race which is what happened. I doubt any car had more than 2 KG of fuel left at then end of the race, Kravitz means well but he does tend to overly dramatise the very ordinary

    5. Easy: Jenson. But a close second for Alonso. It’s the driver of the weekend, and yes, he was aided by the safety car but to bring the car 2 seconds behind Button was supreme.

    6. No love for Rosberg eh? Ah well, it’s JB anyway, undeniably. :)

    7. Voted Alonso, but realised it was actaully Driver of the Weekend not the day, however Fernando was driver of the day for me, Massa behind a Mercedes, Alonso ahead of a McLareb and two Red Bulls, great driver

      1. Agree. Schumacher also had a good drive but I voted for Button for the weekend and the win.

    8. JB had a weekend drivers dream about and few get. FA had a great race and brought a 3rd rated car to the finish line in 2nd. At the rate things are going next year will be one of the best.

    9. JB, of course!

    10. Hard decision this one, but went for Button. As was mentioned above, Button topped all three practices and was unlucky not to secure pole position. Should have led into turn one (was touch and go, but I think Vettel should have been penalised. If that was Michael or Lewis they surely would have had drive-thru’s?) But anyway, Jenson ignored that, got his head down and produced probably the best drive of his career, definitely his best dry race.

      I said at the top of my post that this was a close run vote for me. The other contenders were Alonso, who continues to drag his Ferrari into places that it probably shouldn’t be, and Schumacher. To beat one Ferrari and come home not far behind Hamilton (however off form he was) was a great achievement, proof if any was still needed that while not at his absoloute peak, Michael can still cut it on his day.

      Cannot argue against JB this week though!

      1. Melbourne 2009? Bahrain 2009? Catalunya 2009? Monaco 2009? Turkey 2009?

    11. Driver of Saturday: Vettel
      Driver of Sunday: Alonso
      Driver of the Weekend: Button

      1. Nicely put David!

      2. I guess you’re right. Overall Button did the best job this weekend, although Alonso did the best job on Sunday and Vettel dominated Saturday

    12. Note enough to vote for him, but I thought Mark Webber drove a good race too. At the end of the race he was close to his team mate who started five places further up the grid. Too bad for him he couldn’t deliver a good time in Q3, otherwise he would have been mixing it at the front. Still, he is more deserving of a vote than Felipe Massa…(ok, hands up, whose vote was that :))

      1. Very generous Adrian, you area true believer even though you missed that Mark made 2 places in the race against McLaren and Ferrari while Vettel lost 2 places in the race against McLaren and Ferrari. Cheers.

    13. I voted for Perez. Not getting the opportunity to do a Q2 time, having a pretty bad case of the flu, but still ending 9 places in fron of where you started and 8 in front of his teammate who started 10 places in front. Setting the FLAP but for a 1thousend of a second as well. With one stop less than the rest. As a rookie.

      Not that I think Button did not deserve it, I think this really shows how good a run he is having. He took a big step with that WDC and never really looked back but kept growing (Vettel is doing the same thing really). The calm and composure of letting Alonso close up, then give that little bit extra and stop right after the line with only 2kg of fuel left in the car. WOW.

      Alonso was a bit messy in qualifying. But he showed why he is really worth the effort to have in a team again. He was that close to getting Button as well in the end.

    14. sid_prasher (@)
      10th October 2011, 21:07

      Alonso drove well but will have to go with Jenson.

    15. sid_prasher (@)
      10th October 2011, 21:08

      Somebody voted Liuzzi :)

      1. LOL…. an error…

        Poor guy, he has bad luck everytime he is partner for a young Red Bulll Driver Program… first Vettel and now Riccardo..

        1. Riccardo hasnt proved himself yet just because he beat a guy that only did 12 or 13 laps before race that doent mean much specially when considering that in q1 Riccardo must have done at least half of those laps.

    16. Button, easily. With topping every practice, winning the race AND setting the fastest lap, that’s plain astonishing at a track I really thought Red Bull would walk to the win. Stunning performance. If he’d got pole, he would’ve had the perfect weekend, and they don’t happen very often at all.

    17. One of Button’s best performances. Making Hamilton look so second hand now. Especially liked Button celebrating with the Japanese fans.

    18. I went for Button, I think he had the fastest car so no surprise he won, but he made the most of it, and qualifying was the only slip-up of the weekend.

      Second would be Alonso for his stealthy performance in the race (hardly saw him for the whole weekend), and third Perez with another solid drive up the field. Also an honourable mention for Sutil who was fast all weekend but it just didn’t come together for him.

    19. JB without a doubt. Did the job all weekend. He felt that Seb was unfair at the start but didn’t lose his head but instead calmly and strongly took the win. That said, Alonso was my driver of the day. The Ferrari is still the 3rd fastest car imo and he just picked off everyone who made mistakes. His pace was very strong at times too. It’s only being outqualified that loses him my vote as DOTW.

    20. DOTW has definitely got to be Jenson,Quick all round,His amazing ability of conserving the tyres with his Precision enabled to win the race.Ignoring the fact Seb got pole by the tiniest of margins,Jenson has more or less dominated a race weekend in my opinion for the first time since Monaco 2009 & also outperforming Lewis for the first time since being at McLaren.

      This is psychologically a massive & possibly even a turning point for him,maybe this might be the story from now on,Lewis will definitely pick himself up for certain but maybe the No.1 at McLaren wouuld be a different driver to the one everyone is used to seeing.

    21. DOTW has definitely got to be Jenson,Quick all round,His amazing ability of conserving the tyres with his Precision enabled him to win the race.Ignoring the fact Seb got pole by the tiniest of margins,Jenson has more or less dominated a race weekend in my opinion for the first time since Monaco 2009 & also outperforming Lewis for the first time since being at McLaren.

      This is psychologically a massive weekend & possibly even a turning point for him,maybe this might be the story from now on,Lewis will definitely pick himself up for certain but maybe the No.1 at McLaren would be a different driver to the one everyone is used to seeing.

      Apologies for Duplicate Posts,This is slightly modified

    22. Easily Button, he’s going to walk away with this one and deserves it too.

      Having said that, why is everyone voting for Button’s “dominating” weekend, when nobody voted Vettel in on his equally dominating weekends at the start of the year? Simple: Nobody likes the idea that it’s more down to the car than the driver, and the RB was so crushingly peerless at the start of the year that Vettel’s success was as much “Don’t make a balls of it” (which is harder than it looks) than dictating the pace through talent.

      1. People still believe the Red Bull is a better car, and that this weekend was all Jenson.

        1. I think most people on here realise that the mclaren has caught up now, but at the start of the year the red bull was clearly faster

    23. A difficult decision. Perez or Alonso. Probably Alonso.

    24. JB – easy peasy!

      It’s time for Lewis to take stock and simply allow Jenson to be team leader. Jenson is really proving that his experience and maturity are getting the job done. Now brimming with confidence he also has the speed. Lewis has truly met his match.

      Lewis must learn from this – his raw talent, undoubtable speed and passing skills are no match for the technical excellence of Red Bull + Sebastian Vettel. Jenson on the other hand has played a crafty game. Probably the best race craft of the season if not tied with Alonso.

      If Lewis does this – much like he managed in 2009 with the sub-standard MP4-24 – he will learn so much more instead of scrapping over team leader status. Let Jenson soak up the pressure on that one :)

      Oh and Lewis, you need your coach, manager, Dad…

    25. Driver of the race would be very difficult to pick, but driver of the weekend is no doubt – Jenson Button.

    26. Has to be Jenson, no one else had the level of domination he displayed this weekend, I think this shows that he can drive the car well and is actually a top class driver proving that 2009 wasn’t just a fluke for having the best car.

    27. Button’s drive this year reminds me of 2004 championship where he was a very regular visitor to the podium apart from the man himself. In fact he made it 10 times to the Podium without a win. He was very consistent that year. If not for the very strong Ferrari he would have been a strong title contender in 2004 for the WDC. But then alas everything vanished for 4 years until Brawn found the magic car.

      I hope this year does not end as 2004 for Jenson with a sudden loss of form the following year. Either way he drove a good race this time denying Seb of the magic weekend. I strongly believe next year will be a great comeback year for Lewis.

      1. I remember JB made some stunning drives that year. The ferrari was simply untouchable that year though

    28. Lewis Hamilton’s team mate old what’s his name

      1. You know that guy that was making such a big mistake joining Hamilton’s team.

    29. I’m gonna give it to Alonso.

      Button had a solid race but he should have been on pole with the fastest car over a single lap.
      I don’t care what drivers do in practice sessions because that’s always irrelevant with different teams testing different things and different fuel loads. The only thing you can say about the practice sessions is Vettel made a mistake in P1.
      The only reason Button won is because McLaren didn’t put enough fuel in his car, allowing him to run with less weight than he normally would have and because Red Bull had absolutely horrible pitstops with Vettel (4.6, 3.9 en 3.7??! Where did the low 3 second or high 2 second pitstops go that Red Bull were so notorious for in previous races…).
      Alonso may have been beaten by Massa in Q3 but his pace was incredible.
      The way I see it Alonso set his car up perfectly for the race. And although that probably cost him a grid slot it enabled him to keep up with 2 faster cars and ultimately pip Vettel when his team did another cautious pitstop.

      Button should have been on pole and got the victory handed to him by Red Bull, Vettel made a mistake in P1 while dreaming about title #2 but Alonso made the best of his weekend by far.

      And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like Alonso one bit.

      1. BTW,

        About that fuel strategy McLaren used. Wasn’t there a rule that said each driver should be able to drive back to park fermé AND have enough fuel in the car? They weren’t happy when Hamilton stopped on track after taking pole at Gilles Villeneuve in 2010 so why do they allow Button to cross the line, park his car and bugger off to the podium without a peep?

        Furthermore, what would McLaren have done if there hadn’t been a SC. They would have looked like total morons if Button had to retire from the lead or concede his place to Alonso and Vettel with 2 or 3 laps to go. Is it worth that much to try and beat Vettel?

        It does put Hamilton shunting Massa in a different light though… Singapore 08 anyone? ;)

        1. I think it was the noble thing to do. It would have been crass to waltz around on a victory lap trying to steal Vettel’s moment having won the championship. Also, 2KG of fuel is more than enough to complete the slowing down lap. They only use 3 ish kgs at race race speed.

          You wouldn’t want to finish the race with much more than 2 KG of fuel on board as that would mean you’d been carrying unnecessary weight around throughout the race. Also, it wasn’t just Jenson that had the Safety car to contend with, everybody did so everybody was able to lean out the fuel mixture for a few laps to save some fuel for a last hurrah at the end of the race which is what happened. I doubt any car had more than 2 KG of fuel left at then end of the race, Kravitz means well but he does tend to overly dramatise the very ordinary.

    30. Jenson Button – without a shadow of a doubt. To be fastest in all three practice sessions, be 0.009 off pole and win the race on a track that suits Red Bull and that Vettel loves shows Jenson’s class. If McLaren build a car next year to rival Red Bull from the off, Jenson will be one to watch definitely

    31. Button deserve it as he was the best all weekend except for quali but to me Alonso is the most deserving,raced well the car isn’t good but he took that Ferrari a place where it shouldn’t be.I guess race trim Mercedes was a better car then Ferrari this weekend.

    32. Apart from the race winner of course. For the second time this season im going to say Alonso Ferrari and Alonso really worked alongside their problems and managed to make the perfect race set up as they stand they couldnt have done better, they knew that the loading of the tyre was the key factor to tyre saving so they went for less downforce and a more conservative qualifying lap. Other teams had concerns about the tyres camber levels were the measure proposed by Red Bull but I guess it wasnt enough they had to pit to early I saw it as necessity

    33. A lot of shout-outs this time.

      D’Ambrosio had another good weekend, outqualified his much more experienced team mate and finished the race just one second behind him. Kovalainen was the best of the ‘new guys’ once again, made an incredible start and kept a bunch of quicker cars behind himself for many laps. Ricciardo keeps steadily improving as well, he outperformed Liuzzi and fought closely with both Virgins over the whole race.

      Force India boys had bad luck. Unsurprisingly, Perez made the 2-stop strategy work brilliantly. Schumacher had another strong race and Rosberg recovered well after starting from the back of the grid. Alonso seemed to get the most out of his car on Sunday but lost out to Massa on Saturday. Vettel clinched the championship in mature and convincing manner.

      Button had a great weekend. He was closer to the pole position than any non-Red Bull driver had been this season. On Sunday, he didn’t let the slightly questionable start incident unbalance himself, pushed when he needed to and drove a superb race. So it’s really hard to decide but Jenson gets my vote for the DotW.

    34. This is extraordinary.

      Jenson is astonishing, his every win this season was a special treat. Japan for his girlfriend, winning his 200th race in Hungary, and Canada – you just need one quote from Wikipedia to sum it up:

      “Button made five pit-stops, had his teammate crash into him, served a drive-through penalty for speeding under the safety car – dropping him to last place – as well as sustaining a puncture from a collision with Alonso, and made 27 on-track passes to win the longest Formula One race in history.”

      That’s something to put in your CV. I started watching F1 because of Jenson, and i am so delighted that i did. What a fantastic carreer.

    35. Vettel was a brilliant driver in Japan, a worthy world champion from the start of the year. Schumacher also did well, proving me wrong about Mercedes’ pace in Spa and Monza alone, I see Schumacher going on to good races next year if he continues.

      But I don’t think there’s any doubt about it on who gets my vote. Button drove an excellent race, calmly driving through to leap Vettel at the pitstops, and clearing off to win the race. I used to only thing Button could win races in the wet, but this proves it. He did what he had to do to keep his championship hopes alive, such a shame that the other part of the plan didn’t quite go his way.

      Also, I noticed something during Qualifying. The top 3 seem to be Vet/But/Ham.. Does this imply that Mclaren have a far better car? Or that Mark Webber is just hopeless this year?

      1. Of course, I forgot Alonso, but he’s been getting 120% out of that Ferrari for most of the year.
        Doesn’t make it any less amazing though..

      2. Not sure Mark Webbers hopeless, but I wouldn’t put him up to the standards of the mclaren drivers or vettel.

        I’m pretty sure the red bull has basically been designed around vettel as well which won’t help

    36. I can’t, and don’t want to, see past Jenson Button. A near perfect weekend in a car that can’t compare to the Red Bull.

      Button and Alonso have consistently outdriven their cars and have been my stand out drivers of the season.

      Vettel of course has been faultless all year, so kudos to him!

      Another mention to Michael Schumacher, who has been quietly collecting points and is far closer to Rosberg on points this year.

    37. One of the easiest driver of the weekend polls purely because Button was stunning all weekend. Fastest in all three practice sessions, just 0.009 behind Vettel in qualifying and a superb race win. Button is really showing his worth this season and that he deserves his place in the upper reaches of F1.

      He has shown extreme maturity and Sunday’s race was a perfect example of this. The start could have ruined his race but he showed how he can be calm within the cockpit and deliver the lap times when it counted. To win at Suzuka which many believe to be Vettel’s track was extremely impressive.

      An honourable mention must go to Alonso as beating Vettel is something to savour this year it seems.

    38. Vettel was clearly bringing the 2nd fastest car on pole, while neither Button or Hamilton (though partly due to not getting his final run in), so for saturday he was the best by quite a large margin.
      Alonso was the best on race day, I think. He was getting that Ferrari up into 2nd despite being in the 3rd fastest car.
      Button though, was in my opinion not the best in any of the sessions (those that matters at least), but unlike Vettel, who didn’t really have a very good race, and Alonso who had a terrible qualifying, Button didn’t have a bad session he was in true Button style, consistent. So as for driver of the weekend it just has to be him.

    39. JB, no contest, great race craft, excellent race management, and pushed the car only when he felt he needed to. HAM should be looking over the garage and taking note of the benefits bought be being calm and considered about how you go about your business. JB’s maturity buying him many friends and much support. HAM take note!!!

    40. Hell Yeah!!! Jenson was simply fantastic all weekend,great job,i really hope Mclaren can have a fantastic car from the beginning of next season.The Red Bull are going to see silver and red in front of them the whole season :D

    41. Easy choice, Jenson Button! The start impressed me. Despite the fact that Vettel put Jenson onto the grass, the McLaren driver kept his composure well and that must be hard to do under such circumstances. Button has really shown a side to his talent that we never saw when he drove at BAR or later Honda as it became known. Few notice you when you are constantly mid-pack, when finishing in the points was considered a great result.
      Now that Jenson is at a front running team, in a car very capable and second only to the Red Bull, the guy seems to have a newfound confidence about him. A far cry from the end of the 2008 season when it looked for all the world that his career was over, following the sudden collapse of the Honda F1 team.
      I remember in 2007, when the British press were all praising Lewis Hamilton poor old Button seldom was mentioned, everything was negative. The car he was driving wasn’t fit for delivering milk nevermind a title, and there was Lewis, in his first season driving for McLaren and competing for a championship. And all Button had to show for seven years of hard graft was one grands prix win. So I am happy for him that the worm has turned, and that the biter has been well and truly bitten.

    42. Easy:

      Button is the driver of the weekend,
      Vettel is driver of the year,
      Perez is becoming the rookie of the year (but I’m not decided on that one),
      and Schumacher is the Comebackman of the year – boy did he beat Massa again or what? Like bad old days for Massa!

      1. My only disagreement there is Perez, he’s been good but I’d have to go with Diresta!

    43. I almost voted for Vettel for his gag along the lines of “there can’t be that many Virgins in F1” on the f1 forum.

      However, seriously, it has to be Button!

    44. J E N S O N B U T T O N !

      It’s too obvious.

    45. It was a toss up between Button & Alonso, but in the end I went with Button. He didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend, and rained on Vettel’s parade so what else could you ask for?

    46. Talk about most voters being biased…

      When Vettel performed like this numerous times through the season he barely got voted into the top three. But now Button was “dominating” and “superb”?
      What’s even funnier is thar when Vettel was actually dominating (cause Button was far from dominant) Turkey and Valencia nobody considered him.

      I guess it’s like Brundle and Coulthard said after Singapore. Whose the best besides Vettel because people expect him to dominate.

      Seriously though, Button wasn’t dominant or superb. He didn’t even have to fight for his victory…
      Alonso, Schumacher and Perez clearly did a much better job all weekend.

      1. “Seriously though, Button wasn’t dominant or superb. He didn’t even have to fight for his victory…”

        Sounds like dominant to me.

        1. I meant he didn’t need to overtake anyone. If he had overtaken Vettel on track it would have been something else entirely. Now, he won it because Red Bull took too much time in the pits.

          But still, not having to fight for the victory and pole is something we’ve seen 6 or 7 times this year from Vettel. Why didn’t Vettel get 300+ votes then?
          Why is it Vettel can only become DotW after dropping back at the start and fighting his way through when Button can become DotW by only staying out of trouble and without dominating any session?

          Seems like a lot of voters don’t want to vote for Vettel because he’s Vettel.

      2. Vettel had a huge car advantage in Turkey and Valencia though, although Button had the quicker car in Japan, it was touch and go. Jenson is clearly driving beautifully right now, and has been since Canada. That cannot be taken away from him.

        I do agree at times Vettel has been under-valued in this poll, but the two examples you quoted were probably poor ones. The one Vettel deserved above all others (Monza) he achieved, however.

        1. Those two are examples of actual dominance.
          Button is getting a ridiculous amount of votes because of “dominance”.
          Where was that dominance at Suzuka?
          He lost pole to a slower car, stayed out of trouble and managed to stay ahead of a Ferrari by only 1.1 seconds.

          How on earth is that dominance?

          Furthermore, Vettel didn’t have a huge car advantage in Turkey and Valencia because in both races Webber was fighting with Alonso for second. The Red Bull was probably the faster car but it wasn’t a huge advantage.
          More than McLaren’s advantage over the rest at Suzuka? Probably yes. But those races Vettel actually did what Button should have done at Suzuka. Claim pole and dominate Sunday. Button didn’t.

          As much as I like Button (most easy going, sympathetic guy on the grid imo) and as surprised as I am for the fact that he’s showing Hamilton a thing or two about racing I cannot justify him being DotW this time.

    47. Own up, which jokers gave more votes to Hamilton than Vettel! Im a bit Lewis fan, but he had surely the worst performance of his career while Vettel showed maturity to close out the championship! Vettels lap in quali was worth a few votes on its own, but I went for Button. Superb on Sunday and above his usual standard on Saturday too.

    48. Button had a good weekend but I don’t think it was as good as some seem to judging by the comments.

      For me setting the quickest times in practice mean very little especially if the driver doesn’t perform in qualifying or the race. Button performed in the race but he should have got pole also.

      The driver who impressed me most was Perez, so that is who I voted for.

    Comments are closed.