F1 Fanatic

@JB

Jenson is as complete a package as rivals like Alonso, Vettel or Raikkonen to make him the default lead driver

Oh i think you misread my sentence.
What i wrote was

But perhaps what Martin should consider is whether Jenson is as complete a package as rivals like Alonso, Vettel or Raikkonen to make him the default lead driver.

Jenson is a great driver and he will retire in future with a F1 career to be proud of. He is however close but maybe just not close enough to be part of the stratosphere that the likes of Alonso reside in. If you put Button in the F2012, he won’t disgrace the car and he would definitely outpace Massa but he probably won’t wring as much out of the car as Alonso – which is what the super-elite drivers will do.

Put it this way, if a poll were to be done now on which current drivers would squeeze in into a revised list of all-time top 20 F1 drivers, Jenson’s name probably won’t figure in the discussion as prominently as super-elite drivers like Alonso, Vettel, Raikkonen and of coz, MSC.

It is degrading to call Button McLaren no 2 material but neither is he outright McLaren no 1 material. He is probably erm, a McLaren no 1.5 material if there is such a term.

I hope that Whitmarsh would go for someone like Raikkonen if Hamilton leaves – who all things equal, would be that vital bit faster than Button; and drop the idea of getting someone like di Resta or Perez to Button in as a clear understudy for 2013.

Relationships will always get strained at some point, at some level. What we see now, might be Whitmarsh having a slight headache over the lengths of contract negotiations as well as the multiple off track incidents. Merely being less affectionate or passionate about someone for a short amount of time, does not have to mean love is over. Silly Season aside, McLaren know they want to keep Lewis and Lewis knows McLaren is his best option. As mentioned by others before, Villeneuve made the mistake of leaving Williams for BAR under the premise of making it a winning team, Hamilton would be advised to be aware of being asked to build a team Schumacher and Brawn couldn’t turn into winners.

As for Button, he might be vocal with complaints or feedback on the car, but he is a very relaxed gentleman. He lacks the edge guys like Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen or Vettel got, but he has done much better at McLaren compared to Lewis than anyone thought, not to mention is a good fit for the team. Perhaps his personality matches that of Whitmarsh more and that results in more noticeable affection.

To those bringing up Senna, there are those who say that Senna and Dennis were no longer very close in 1993, due to circumstances I probably don’t have to repeat here. As I said, relationships sour.

By the way;

aren’t you tired of pulling out 4 year old stories yet

I found this to be amusing in the context of F1, as many people who dislike Alonso never let Crashgate or 2007 rest and people still get their panties in a bunch when the name Schumacher pops up anywhere near ‘Monaco 2006′, ‘Jerez 1997′ or ‘Adelaide 1994′. I might not have passed math with perfect scores in high school, but I think those are a little older than 4 years old and are still brought up in many talks about Schumacher that I see.