Button: “Triathlons make me a better driver”

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Jenson Button says doing triathlons helped him improve as a driver, after running his own in London.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Button driven by triathlon successes (This is Somerset)

“The team know I love doing triathlons and that it makes me a better driver and a better person. They’re very understanding.”

British GP to get new promoter by end of 2012 under BRDC plans (Pitpass)

BRDC chairman Stuart Rolt: “The new partner would become the new British Grand Prix promoter. The plan is to completely separate on a financial level Silverstone from the BRDC for the period of the lease.”

How F1 wizardry that helps Jenson Button go faster is saving children in intensive care (Daily Mail)

“The system – essentially a computer programme which can be installed on any IT system – allows doctors to get a constant picture of how a child is doing by comparing several different clinical measurements.”

Tweets

Comment of the day

The suggestions for Saturday’s Caption Competition were some of the best yet. I especially liked those from James Brickles, Mariano, Mike the bike Schumacher, Asdf1234, Jay_au and Matt.

But this one from @Red-Andy was my favourite:

“Sorry to bother you, Mr Coulthard. Someone mentioned doughnuts and we thought we’d better check it out.”

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Woffin and Kozo.higashi!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Ferrari’s anonymous Horse Whisperer hit back at criticism of their use of team orders – then illegal – at the Hockenheimring in 2010.

What’s more, their broadside was directed at the team’s former driver Niki Lauda who, in the Whisperer’s words “missed out on a fine opportunity to keep his mouth shut”:

Image © McLaren/Hoch Zwei

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...

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47 comments on “Button: “Triathlons make me a better driver””

  1. The caption winner is just awful , it should be elected by vote , not by what gives Keith the giggles.

    Sorry but this is unfair to the other members of this site.

    1. Who really cares!? Its all just for a laugh! Its more there for us to read each others funny captions, not who the winner is!

    2. I think that might have been some funnier out there but i cant get enough of the fat american policeman jokes.

    3. Unfair how? There isn’t a prize anyway.

    4. There were probably some funnier ones, but it don’t really matter. I agree on the voting though, however I doubt it will ever be implemented.

    5. I actually think it’s the best caption yet :D

    6. I liked the “CSI: Scotland” one myself.

      YYEEAAAAHHHH!!!

    7. I think the caption is hilarious, well done!

    8. Well I thought it was brilliant. Well done that man.

      1. Modesty is for fools.

    9. Thanks for the suggestion. The Caption Competition is a relatively new addition to the site – it’s something that began earlier this year – and at present I’m happy with how it’s working.

      Humour is subjective so even if we held a vote to decide the Caption Competition winner I expect there would still be some people complaining that they didn’t like or didn’t get the joke.

      What you’re suggesting would most likely require investing time and effort in implementing some kind of comment rating system. This in itself is something which could be a useful addition to the site. But at present I have more pressing priorities to work on – not least of which ensuring the site brings in enough money in order to keep it running which has been behind some of the most recent changes.

      1. @keithcollantine

        implementing some kind of comment rating system. This in itself is something which could be a useful addition to the site.

        Why? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

        Anyway, I wish you all the luck in the world in your efforts to make the website more cost effective and I’ll try to support these efforts myself somehow, too.

        1. William Brierty
          20th August 2012, 10:44

          Sorry, guys but I think its time for a reality check. This is a ten comment long debate about how the winning comment is selected in the caption competition! Just because Keith choses the winning comment himself the caption competition has not become an afront to western democracy. Keith is not being in any way Fascist, he is just keeping what is a light-hearted way of filling five minutes, simple. He is avoiding dragging out and over-complicating the caption competition all for what can only be described as trivial reasons. And you say the winning comment was rubbish – did you see some of the others! There’s actually one that reads: “Stop in the name of team orders, Klien wants a go.” (!?)

          1. Anyway if you have a vote system it would be even worse … Generally Keith pick very well to me and as he said the pick is probably a shortcut for the people who don’t bother reading all the suggestions, I read some of them and like it …

            If you enter a voting system, you will always have a winner on the first page, that’s obvious for many reasons, first because they are the first to post thus gather the first votes and then I’m not sure a lot of people continue reading after the first page of comment except the one enjoying this caption thing as I do and those don’t mind Keith picking, so no point to change here ^^

            For the cost, can only wish the best of luck to continue to have such a complete and enjoyable place to spend time for all F1 fans

          2. Keith is not being in any way Fascist

            Always good to read.

      2. I’m a regular over at the GT Planet forums, where they run a regular caption competition for Formula 1 photos. It’s a very intricate system that gives users one week to post their captions before entries close, and then one week to vote on captions by giving points to their favourites, at which point the winner is decided and they pick the picture for the next round. It works very, very well, but I think it would be entirely too much work for something that happens during off-weeks in the season given the size and the scope of the blog.

        What I’m trying to say is that the caption competition is just a bit of fun, and shouldn’t be taken so seriously.

      3. Comment rating system is a bad idea in my opinion. Comment section is a place for exchanging ideas and a casual conversation among F1 fans. Rating system turns posting comments into a competition and inevitably attracts trolls, sock accounts created for the sole purpose of “upping” comments, etc. I agree with @girts : if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

        1. The voting system would only be implemented for the caption competition (and maybe another version for the COTD – but this is an entirely different story).However, if it’s done correctly (i.e. a condition where only the registered users can vote, and only enter “one” vote, with a cool-down period between votes, or in case they wish to change that vote), then it would work fine. But as Keith said (and i agree with him), it would be a bit of a job even if it is a simple thing. While I agree with the notion “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”, i think that is a rather lazy and backwards approach for a site that has a lot of potential. If the engineers and designers thought like you when they first designed and tested, say, the plane or the rocket, or the Internet, or any other hardware/software system ever invented for that matter, nothing would EVER get done!

          1. Michael Brown (@)
            21st August 2012, 0:43

            I don’t think voting will work for captions that get featured in the next round up. It’s much easier for Keith to browse the comments, pick one he likes, and continue with the article he’s writing.

    10. The fact that the ‘caption competition’ decision making process has the ability to generate a such response is testament to the site’s reputation. I’ve read similar things about the COTD and found it highly amusing that people are so bothered – in a funny way it’s nice to see that people care so much.

      1. Good point. I am sure we all care because it is a great site, most importantly because the author interacts with his fans (the site fans) and the F1 fans on a regular basis, and that makes it a special and unique experience like no other I think. Despite some criticisms from probably newer users (who don’t now Keith very well) I think Keith has done a fantastic job and I doubt anyone would be able to do it any better. Please keep it up.

    11. Calm down.

  2. Yeah, those Moto GP riders are insane! How on earth do you ride with a busted ankle?

    1. Unreal, and they all tend to race with broken bones and torn ligaments, most recently Rossi and before Lorenzo run with both ankles broken, but in true Aussie fashion i cant forget Mick Doohan who used to run with a thumb operated rear brake on the left handlebar after he smashed his legs to pieces.

    2. How on earth do you ride with a busted ankle?

      In fourth position, that’s how.

  3. “The team know I love doing triathlons and that it makes me a better driver..

    Well, then you better keep running!

    1. And swimming….

      1. Doory (the forgetful fish) in Finding Nemo would say “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”

    2. The team know I love doing triathlons and that it makes me a better driver

      Jenson, how about practicing some single lap pace and learning to push to the car to it’s limits. I think that will make you a better driver

  4. fourwheeldrift
    20th August 2012, 8:15

    Um…I don’t get it, there’s not an officer fat or otherwise in-sight, might be funny if there was

    Personally I would have gone for…DC checks all the likely places in his search for Lewis Hamilton

    1. Um…I don’t get it, there’s not an officer fat or otherwise in-sight, might be funny if there was

      It’s a double-entendre.

      On the one hand, you have the police investigating Coulthard for doing donuts. Donuts are largely considered to be hooning, anti-social behaviour on four wheels.

      On the other hand, there is the cliche that all police drink coffee and eat donuts, so that when someone mentions Coulthard is doing donuts, they’ve mistaken it to mean edible donuts.

      And that’s why it’s funny.

      Although it’s less so when you have to explain it.

    2. Police cars tend to imply police officers- funny that.

      1. fourwheeldrift
        20th August 2012, 16:05

        Yer…but that has nothing to do with DC looking into a police car does it

        1. Michael Brown (@)
          21st August 2012, 14:34

          Let’s imagine the police car pulled up to DC, and the policeman inside is talking to DC about doughnuts.

  5. Hm, so what is that about Silverstone? It seems there is nothing new on the horizon in that article, but the fact an imminent deal is on the cards.

  6. Nice article on the McLaren predictive software. Who said F1 does not create anything remotely usefull in the real world.

    In a sense it might be even more exiting for patients and doctors to know from what environment it stems. Funny remark about heartrate though ‘At the moment it’s intuitive for a racing engineer but less so for clinicians. For example, breathing rate kept coming up as “revs per minute”. So there’s some tweaking to do.’

    ‘At the moment it’s intuitive for a racing engineer but less so for clinicians. For example, breathing rate kept coming up as “revs per minute”. So there’s some tweaking to do.’

    Way to go McLaren!

    1. fourwheeldrift
      20th August 2012, 11:01

      I’m not sure about the paralles the writer keeps making with jensons pit stop timming though

      After hungary I wouldn’t want any computer system that bought jenson in for his poorley timmed stops looking after my health

  7. William Brierty
    20th August 2012, 10:49

    I wonder whether falling off his bicycle and breaking his leg will make Button a better driver? Actually, it must be said, it worked for Webber.

    1. OMG you are so right perhaps he should not be flying or driving in a car as well.

    2. Is this some implication of the ‘dangers’ of triathlons? If so, we better ban drivers from walking around in daily life as well. Or, maybe Nico Rosberg would become a better driver if he tore some knee muscles doing some football and Timo Glock slipping at Oktoberfest. Random cynicism, woohoo!

    3. William Brierty
      20th August 2012, 15:30

      No this is not any form of implication, I’m simply poking fun at the statement “Triathlons make me a better driver” and used random cynicism to do it. I think if you learnt to read some things with a pinch of salt or appeciate that it was written as a tongue-in-cheek gag, life would be a much more enjoyable experience for the both of you.

      1. Clearly running with the cynicism and making it worse is a miserable way to live my life. ;)

  8. SennaNmbr1 (@)
    20th August 2012, 19:53

    Jenson, if triathlons make you a better driver, you need to start doing Iron Man.

    1. He did ._.

      He did the Cebu one a few weeks ago.

    2. He is already a better driver, he need something to make him faster! ^_~

  9. I wonder what a new promoter would bring to Silverstone? They don’t seem to be struggling with ticket sales so I can’t see how another party could benefit here. Sure, it helps the BRDC clear their debts but what is there actually to promote?

Comments are closed.