Wow, 25 pages for a very simple equation

Lewis > Button.

Simple question for the McLaren fans. Aslong as McLaren is winning do you care who out of Button or Lewis is in front?

I suppose I will support lewis more then Button at the mo, but as I have nothing against Button and think he's a ok bloke, if he is winning then I won't have any problems. May the best man win.

x2

Spoken like a proper race fan rather than a fanboy.

I'm the same, but probably slightly more in the Button camp. I'm just looking forward to the races.

Watching both of them fighting the opposition, and possibly each other, in the machinery that promises to be good, is gonna be heavenly...

If it were as simple as that it would not be 25 pages.

Yeah its going to be fun... I hope they both won't be too disappointed when some guy called Schumacher takes them to school though ;)

I do agree as long as McLaren are winning i will be smiling.
But i will enjoy Lewis winning a bit more simple because i expect him too (IMHO he is the better and faster of the two).
That being said if Jenson pulls it off i will still be happy just a little surprised if come the end of the season he is ahead of lewis.
I do expect that Jenson will beat lewis twice maybe three times in the season ( mechanical failures omitted).
But best of all would be a Mclaren shut out and one two in the WDC with a WCC too but i dont for one second expect that to happen i just hope

Much as I think Button is brilliant, and I'm very happy to see him with that WDC to his name, I'd much rather see Williams winning

*ducks*

I simply prefer Lewis, regardless of the success
I have nothing against Button, I respect him, but it will not go so far to support him.

What is the internet punishment for treason, Buttoneer? Anyway, there's a constructor's championship for Williams without having to deny Button a second championship. (Although I must admit I would not be sorry to see Barrichello win a WDC.)


Ducks? Where?

I would prefer to see Lewis winning, because I prefer him. After that, the second McLaren driver. Never liked Button in the past, but Ill support him in a McLaren.

I'm just a cheap whore glory hunter, I know.

I support Lewis far more than Jense, but a lot of that is that I see Lewis as exceptionally strong and exceptionally good-natured and likeable for someone who is so strong and competitive. I see Jense as a fair bit weaker.

So my view depends on Lewis blowing Jense away. If Jense beat Lewis I would have to have a major rethink. Major rethink. Not expecting I'll have to tho.

"This is obviously some strange use of the word glory that I wasn't previously aware of."

I've supported Lewis since attending the British GP in 2006 and the buzz that went round after his performance that day. As soon as he entered F1 I've backed him for the title and he'll be my main hope in the coming season. I do like Button however and although I don't feel he is as strong a driver as Lewis, I'll support him should he be the dominant one of the two. Being British its nice to have a British champion and its certainly good for out Motorsports industry. As long as Mclaren have the WCC and a WDC I'll be happy.

So let me get this straight.. some people here simply support the driver who gets better results?

Well I'm a Button supporter through and through and have supported him pre-F1. Being a staunch Jenson supporter, it's very difficult to summise his rollar-coaster career over the last ten years in F1. However, regardless of what people think, Jenson is a WDC and that, in my mind has to command some respect.

However, I have the greatest respect for Lewis, who is also a WDC and first and foremost, I wish both drivers, and the McLaren team all of the best for the coming season.

It's just going to be very hard to call in my mind concentrating on the two Macca drivers.

If Jenson sorts his quali issues when he got the jitters the second half of last season (and there's no reason as to why he will not) then, his consistency is going to be a massive concern for Hamilton. If Jenson is driving a hooked up car, there are very few drivers I would say would want to be chased by Button. However, I think Lewis is going to on a controlled rampage next season and last season's ups and downs for me will have made him into the complete package.

It's just going to be a great season I think, and at the end of the day, given the line-ups this year, I think us lovers of all things Formula 1, are the real winners.

I always liked Lewis from F3 and GP2. He bore me so much in his Euro F3 season that I didn't want to watch it anymore since it was obvious he was going to win the title.

From all of these year with Jenson in F1 he never impressed me at all. It's true that if a driver gets 1 lucky season his status changes of all of sudden. In some poll he suddenly was the 16th greatest of all time. Too me, he's still the same Jenson pre-2009 that got lucky that Brawn found a loophole in rules with DDD and Rubens struggling with brakes during the first half of the season.

edit: I don't hate Jenson, but he's really overrated due to 2009. If he wins the WDC in 2010, I'll give him props and probably rate him a bit higher from then.

Top post.

I generally (always) support the British drivers regardless of their success. I followed the early careers of both JB and LH as they came up through the ranks. I'll root slightly more for JB because I've supported him for longer, but won't be heartbroken if LH wins. Regardless of the driver I support, first and foremost I want to see good racing.

I'll support any British driver but Lewis is my favourite in this pairing. If Jenson wins thats great and I'll be happy for another one of my fellow countrymen..

So after winning the 2009 championship, and succesfully defend his title to win the 2010 championship while having Hamilton as a teammate, you will 'give him props and probably rate him a bit higher'? How thoughtful.

I think it was hard for Jenson to impress you before 2009 because he didn't have a front running car most of the time. His status certainly changed a lot for most people in 2009, but while reading some comments in this topic, that's mostly because people apparently start supporting drivers that win.

For me it's utterlly nonrelevant where a driver comes from, his nationality is indifferent for me.
I usually don't support any sportspersons, stars, famous people etc. I support my favorite team
Lewis is an rare exeption. He is something special.

I kinda forgot about the nationality being an influence while writing that question. Didn't think of that one. As for me that's not even an option.

Don't care, but I would prefer it to be Hamilton. Half of the battle is in the head and a winning Hamilton installs more fear than a winning Button.

That's fair enough, we all have our reasons for who, what, why we support. At the end of the day it's the racing that really counts.

Winning is quite fundamental for an F1 driver.

Anyway he has his chance now, to show how fast he is. Personally I'm not taking it for granted Jense will do better than Kovy.

Not a fan of Mclaren anymore.

but i will support Jenson because he is a far more likeable and fair driver compared to Lewis.

Not a fan of Mclaren anymore.

but i will support Jenson because he is a far more likeable and fair driver compared to Lewis.

It's fundamental for the reputation yeah, but every fan knows F1 isn't a spec series, right?

I'm a Jenson supporter. But I'm happy if Lewis wins because the guy is seriously quick and can make things happen like no other driver on the grid.

Thats probably true for alot of people but just look at the popularity of Ferrari over the past 10 years. They've acquired an immense amount of support since 2000 and people are proud to support an extremely successfull racing team with no qualms about the fact that they've started cheering them on in their post success. There will no doubt be a huge Spanish following present this year and the word "Tifosi" will be used alot more often, whether the true Tifosi like it or not.

I for one must admit that I supported Jenson in the early part of the decade and I did lose abit of faith in the lad, but was overjoyed at his success last season. My faith was restored and I'm not afraid to admit that and am no less an F1 fan regardless. I tend to be a driver man rather than following a certain team and if Lewis moved to Ferrari tomorrow, I'd support him there..

Every fan also knows Jense was at Honda because he couldn't get in at a top team after Williams and Benetton dumped him. That doesn't happen to the MS, FA, LH class of driver.

Honda was a top team when Button joined. It had all the makings of a top team. Extremely well funded.

Well it did happen to FA the last 2 seasons.

He didn't go to Honda. He went to BAR. Honda only became a works team in 2006. Let's not forget that during this time, Williams tried to sign him on two separate occasions.

However, given that Honda plugged in a shed load of money into the team in '06 (and had a very good season by all standards) why would he have left?

Honda wasn't a top team when Button joined. BAR was midfield at best in 2002. It improved during 2003 and the following winter to become a top team in 2004.


He never had the chance to retain the Williams seat because of Montoya. He did get dumped by Briatore, but then again, Briatore got dumped by F1.

I knew someone would say that

Fernando did himself some damage in 07, plus he was unlucky that there was only Ferrari clearly better than Renault, at the time, and they'd signed Kimi for megabucks. You could equally say it's a measure of his rating that he survived 07 and is now in Ferrari.

Yup there are reasons. But at the bottom of it is that the top teams made other choices. Williams were on the way down by the time they wanted Jenson back. Ross Brawn didn't vote him in his top 6 in the Autosport poll at the end of 08, and didn't get him signed up early in 09. Mac have signed him for a fraction of what they're paying Lewis. Don't expect too much, he's top 8 not top 4.

The first couple of years of his career, Button wasn't that impressive, so it's no wonder the topteams weren't very interested. Later on he kept faith in Honda and I doubt he even thought about switching, until they became crap in 2007.

For the rest, there's something called timing aswell. Perhaps he never had it, was stuck on contracts precisely at times were Ferrari or McLaren were looking for a new driver.

I think you're on dodgy ground there.

Yes, Button isnt being paid as much as Hamilton, but there has been a complete financial meltdown which affected everything - including Formula 1. Hamilton is probably the greatest asset in Formula 1 at the moment from a marketing view aswell as driving and a WDC to boot, and barely into his mid-twenties. McLaren are going to do everything in their financial power to retain him - and they have. For now.

However, McLaren gave Button a three year deal, which in itself lends me to think that they value him. Button could have stayed at BGP (Mercedes) but he chose to leave and he was reportedly offered more money. I don't think financial terms are the be all and end all so I think it's fairly baseless to argue that point.

I've argued until I'm blue in the face about this ridiculous top 3, top 5, top 8, tiered rubbish. At the end of the day, half of the grid are amongst the finest four-wheel drivers on the planet. If you're going to give them a title contending car, they're going to get very close to it. Jenson got his last year, and did it at his first attempt.

Regardless of whether it was the DDD, lack of Ferrari/McLaren being competitive, RBR blowing, Barrichello's brakes or whatever the countless excuses have been, Jenson still had to deliver, and he did.

However, we're now going to see finally many of these drivers finally paired with each other, and opinion's will soon count for nothing, as we're going to see these boys go at it on the track.

You shouldn't yeah. That's just really pointless.

I think that's a little harsh.

Jenson would have scored on his debut if it wasn't for an engine failure running in 6th. He also secured a 3rd place grid slot at Belgium. He was also frequently matching Ralf in the second half of the season.

OK... Jenson Button carries the number 1 on his car this season - do you rate him as the best driver in F1?

Yes but Ralf still scored twice as many points over the season. And in his second year he showed absolutely nothing.

My point is, why would topteams be interested in him at this point? He wasn't doing well.

No.
Lewis, Fernando, Felipe, Schumi
Vettel
Jenson

I don't rate any driver as the best. There isn't any best driver. Everybody can be beaten.

Well that is a matter of opinion. There were many in the press and in the paddock that thought he was doing very well. Again Frank tried to have him back twice and even Briatorie tried to get him last year.

His second season was hugely disappointing, most people were acknowledge that. We saw a completely different driver after that year, and I believe he was only ever beaten on points by a team mate once after that (Barrichello '08) which also included a WDC.