To balance the grip front to rear that was thrown off by the removal of the grooves. Since the grooves were the same size front and rear, the fronts gained back a larger percentage of their surface area. Of course, the ideal solution would be to make the rear tyres wider, but apparently that would have been expensive for Bridgestone to do. So smaller fronts it is.

if Button beats Hamilton, the English press will find an excuse to cover up Hamilton's performance's. They won't give Button alot of credit for his efforts.

Just like the Football team, after every World Cup exit, it's always 'blame Maradona, blame Ronaldo, blah blah....'

you didn't see the grilling he got in 2008?

or the praise Button received aswell.

Newsflash: Button is English too.

That is exactly why Button has gone to McLaren. He'll gain more credit for beating Hamilton that he did for winning the WDC.

And I'd dispute Button has done any less to demonstrate raw speed that Alonso. Alonso is often rated as the best overall package, but rarely, if ever, the fastest. At least one of his championships was a cruise and collect job - not that there is anything wrong with that - but faster over a lap than Button? I doubt it.

Praise ?

I never saw any

Mainly because this is a lot closer than Alonso v Massa - only 1 winner there (and it aint Massa)

McLaren have 2 WDC's, both British but with very different styles. Ferrari have 1 multiple WDC and an average also ran who needs to be told when to brake by his engineer...

That's a bit harsh isn't it ?

Quote of the month. Well we Brits must find an excuse from somewhere. We cant live off 1966 forever.

Mandatory minimum of two pit stops? Brilliant! Let's improve the on-track racing by having the cars stationary off-track. They can't even blame Mosley for this one.

my guess is they want to encourage drivers to push from start to finish in the race.... the argument against this is that we dont get to see the smooth, save tires drive vs the gung-ho drive. The counter argument against this is once teams recognize a 1 stop is optimal, then everybody will be doing the smooth save tires drive..... and I agree with the opinion that everyone doing a 2 stopper is better than every one doing a one stopper.


anyways back to topic, decent interviews by Jenson at the Autosport thing... I dont think there will be much fireworks btw the two no matter the result

he should push Lewis all the way

All iam seeing and hearing is jenson,whats up with lewis,he's been rather quiet.Anyway i think it's gonna be very close between them,some races you gonna have lewis in front,and jenson in front in others.I am hoping the car is quick and they are at the front.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80942

I can't wait for this season to start. Problem is, still many weeks away dammit!

F1 rival Lewis Hamilton 'won't blow away Jenson Button'

Eh? Where did you get that from? I base it on Button being quicker some of the time.

Obviously not every view regarding the Hamilton vs Button battle will be the same. But the recurring theme was of Buttons smooth style vs Hamilton's aggressive(alleged) harder on the tyres driving style. A gross over simplification IMO, but nevertheless this is where the battle lines were drawn. Now it transpires the majority of the teams are asking for 2 mandatory stops. Ted Kravitz doesn't divulge who these teams are, but if it goes through as expected, a known strength of Button will be negated. There were those who thought Kovalainen would give Hamilton a run for his money. It was 2 years of total annihilation. Can you name a race Kovalainen came across the finish line less than 10 seconds behind Hamilton? IMO Button and those who think he will beat Hamilton, are in for a rude awakening. Race pace is Hamiltons real strength. This is what shocked Alonso and he is no slouch.

Where do you get "the majority of teams want 2 stops" from that article? What I read is the FIA and teams are discussing it, and the desire for 2 mandatory stops could be coming from the FIA. Afterall BE and co seem to think pitstops spice up the show, that was one of their reasons for the reintroduction os refueling.

Talking of gross over simplications...

I'm hoping they don't mandate two stops. In fact, I'd prefer that they don't even mandate one (though I doubt the current tyres are capable of a no-stop race). I simply don't see the need. One-stop races aren't going to be as popular as some think. Remember, pit stops are going to be very short, in the three second range. That removes 4-6 seconds off the usual time loss from pitting. While some drivers may try it they might find it difficult. One flat spot and the strategy is toast, and that may be tough to avoid while fending off other cars on fresh soft tyres.

As for Jenson & Lewis and strategy, I think it's too early to tell. Both drivers have shown that they can execute almost any strategy, so I don't see a big problem. Hamilton is certainly capable of saving his tyres - the only question is how quick he will be while doing so. And Button can be aggressive and run off qualifying lap after qualifying lap to pull off a three-stopper. Again, can he do it as quickly as Lewis? We'll find out some answers soon.

Jenson: Title chances better at McLaren

What it says on the tin

Regarding 2 mandatory pit stops.

My understanding is that last-minute rule changes have to be unanimous. I can't see McLaren agreeing to it if they think Jenson might be able to one-stop at least some of the time.

This rule change would probably favour Vettel and Red Bull more than anyone. One-stopping would require a fairly long stint on the softer tyres.

Fewer stops favours the better qualifiers and overtakers.

More stops favours the drivers who can get most out of old tyres and new tyres on the in- and outlaps.

What are the odds of a Suzuka collision?

He seems to think McLaren will have a better car than Mercedes this year. I disagree with him. I'm 99% sure Brawn will have the best car.

JB has some knowledge from which to make his choice, what do you base yours on?

How much info do you think he'll have on the Merc ?

I'm with Button, McLaren is the right team to be with for him to have a chance of defending his title. They know what it feels like to win titles year after year whereas the Brawn team don't.

Plenty, or do you think they only started work on it after he left?

(It wouldn't be the first time he's wrong)

I Don't know, just a feeling I have. People underestimate how much the Honda was compromised by having to switch to a Mercedes engine. More often than not the car was not well balanced (specially in the second half of the season), the drivers struggled to get it balanced and the lap times suffered as a result. It was extremely difficult to setup. They (almost) allways started the race weekends with one of the worst cars, having to work hard to get it sorted in time for qualy (sometimes they succedded, sometimes don't). Now the car was redesigned to acomodate the Mercedes engine from the ground up. This alone will be a BIG step forward. The car should be well balanced and this is key for a good lap time.

Chill out i was only asking

And I answered. I think it's pretty obvious he will know what the predicted numbers are for this years car.

Equally people could be underestimating just how much Honda put into the car.

I think Button is actually talking about the rate of development which MAC always excel at.

But was that because of Mercedes ££££?

Jenson hopefully made the best choice. But he can still handle a pants car - won the championship in one - so more advantages compared to Hamilton.

Regarding pitstops for tyres, I hope they do make 2 stops mandatory. Do we really want the possibility of a tortoise beating a hare? I've always thought F1 is about the fastest driver. Sure we have to applaud a smart driver too, but only if he is very fast too. Such as Schumacher. Fast is always revered. Hence Senna, Gilles are adored as compared to Prost, who truth be told was not just smart, but also very fast. Out of all though, Gilles is probably the most lauded because he was willing and more importantly, able to drive the car at the limit willing to put life and machine on the line.

Nope I think it's quite well known that Jense struggles in a less than perfect car whereas Lewis is one of the most adaptable drivers on the grid. The MP4-24 was worse than the Brawn, regardless of which stage of the season you look at. However during the second season when it improved from being an utter donkey to a mere dog, Lewis scored more points than any-other-driver-on-the-grid in the second half of the season. The Brawn and Red Bulls were definitely better, yet those 4 drivers scored less than Lewis from Germany onwards.

Jenson Button will work with Lewis Hamilton for wins

Please. Gives us a break

Brawn halted development after Turkey and McLaren were a flying rocket in some races after that. Many people say Lewis can adapt, but I remember Kovalainen kept out qualifying him left right and centre as well as keeping up points wise until the Mac got better. So there's no evidence to support your theory. There's more proof of Hamilton needing the rocket. And btw Jenson won 6 from 7 races but his teammate had none. Jense was making that Brawn look superior

Good interview

I think Jenson seems a lot more relaxed after last season, having watched, read and listened to a lot of his interviews since becoming champion he seems an easier interview, in the past he sometimes came across as a bit aloof and unapproachable, he seems to be enjoying his role as champion

Mercedes GP is probably going to be very good again next year. Probably Brawn was just playing Jenson because Brawn wanted to have MS. Apparently MS and Brawn had talks at the end of the season about a possible drive for Brawn/Mercedes GP for 2010.

I'm not sure about Mclaren. They had the worst aerodynamics of any car last year. They only managed to win 2 races because of Lewis his driving, not because the car was that good compared to the Red Bull and Brawn GP.

Don't forget his magical 3 points of downforce

Listen, you could be jesus in a race suite, you wont win a race in a dog of a car period, unless its pure luck.
Wake up a little.
The macca by seasons end was one of, if not the fastest cars on track.

Button interview with "Bild" at the "Fashion Week" in Berlin
....
How will your duell with Lewis Hamilton be?
(BILD: Wie wird der Zweikampf mit Lewis Hamilton?)

Button: "Violently. We are very different characters. But we both know, we need to work together.
The decision we make on the track. "
(Button: „Heftig. Wir sind sehr unterschiedliche Charaktere. Aber wir wissen beide: Wir müssen erst mal zusammenarbeiten. Die Entscheidung machen wir dann auf der Strecke aus.“)
........


I don't know how correct the translation is.

nor do I - but no way would Button use the word "violently"

really ?? - not how I remember it. Kept up points wise ? - what in the sense they each didn t score any you mean ?

XFD I can't wait for Lewis to destroy Button this year.

It's funny that he thinks he has any chance at the WDC. You're not racing against some washed up nobody anymore JENSY LOL

Of course Lewis is going to win, but the manner in which he does it will be crucial IMO. I think a 10-15 points difference is realistic, but anything less will pose questions about his outright speed.
---------
In other news, I see McLaren have NOT forced Button to use a Blackberry

...but an iPhone instead.

Ron is just terrible? Why should any self respecting person be forced to use a 'phone' without multitasking, file structure, decent camera etc., and above all have to conform with Apple's stupid restrictions..

Button deserves to get beaten for selling his morals