Jenson Button, one of the most popular and the hottest drivers today, has recently won the Formula One World Championship. But people are hoping that he still have a space left for one more trophy on his display room.
During the latest Laureus World Sports Awards hosted in Abu Dhabi, Jenson Button received the Breakthrough of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Jenson Button’
The winning habit
December 2nd, 2009 |
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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix This year saw the UAE host its first Grand Prix as the world of Formula One descended on Yas Island. There was disappointment the championship was not decided in the Emirates as Jenson Button won his first title at the penultimate race in Brazil, but nevertheless all eyes
Button ends debate, chooses McLaren
November 19th, 2009 |
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World champion Jenson Button has signed to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton for McLaren in 2010, the Formula One team said yesterday. The British driver has decided to end a nine-year association with Brawn, with whom he won his first driver’s title this year. Button’s move to McLaren fills a gap
Every second counts
August 29th, 2009 |
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If Jenson Button flies out of Abu?Dhabi in November with anything less than his first World Championship title, it will mark a cataclysmic collapse for the British Brawn-GP driver. The UAE capital will host the season-ending grand prix on November 1 and with Button leading the standings with 72
Hamilton returns to winning ways
July 26th, 2009 |
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• ‘It’s been a long time’ says delighted McLaren driver
• Fernando Alonso handed suspension for European grand prix
Lewis Hamilton had almost forgotten the routine for the first three finishers. Today the world champion, for two seasons so familiar with it, had to remind himself of the procedure after winning the Hungarian grand prix and finishing on the podium for the first time in 2009.
“Great to see you. It’s been a long time,” he said as he walked beaming into the conference room along with Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber. Hamilton’s obvious pleasure came from reacquainting himself with spraying victory champagne and appreciating the McLaren team’s efforts in returning him to the podium. “This has been a huge leap for us,” he said. “We definitely deserve this after such a long time and after a season that has been very hard on everyone in the team.”
Once the McLaren engineers had finally established the fundamental faults with a car that Hamilton had, at times, found impossible to drive, the Woking team worked flat out to produce and test new parts, the latest changes to the front wing arriving on Friday. Hamilton rewarded the effort by qualifying fourth but confessed yesterday that he did not expect to win.
“It could have gone either way,” he said. “But everything just sort of fell into place. I had quite a good start. It was very close and I immediately got into a fight with Mark [Webber]. He was very fair and I was able to use Kers to good advantage.”
McLaren and Ferrari are the only two teams persisting with Kers energy retention, a system which was not expected to deliver a significant performance advantage on the twists and turns of the Hungaroring. But Hamilton and Raikkonen, who finished second for Ferrari, used the 6.5sec power boost on the main straight as a means of keeping the opposition at bay.
Hamilton’s cause was helped by Renault’s plans for a first win this season coming apart within 12 laps. Fernando Alonso had claimed pole position by running with a light load of fuel during qualifying and planning to stop three times for fuel as opposed to the two-stop strategy favoured by everyone else. Alonso took the lead as planned but was soon slowed by fuel pump problems. The denouement for the former world champion was more embarrassing when he lost a front wheel shortly after his first pit stop, letting Hamilton into a lead he would not lose.
Renault, world champions in 2006 and 2007, were suspended from the next race in Valencia, a home grand prix for Alonso. The team have appealed. The stewards decided that Alonso was released from his pit in the knowledge that the wheel securing nut was not in position “which resulted in a heavy part of the car detaching at Turn 5 and the wheel itself detaching at Turn 9″. It is perhaps no coincidence that the decision comes a week after Henry Surtees was killed by an errant wheel at Brands Hatch.
“Maybe we would not have won but we definitely missed an opportunity to finish on the podium,” said Alonso, before hearing the stewards’ decision. “The car was quick but there was a problem fitting the right-front wheel at the first pit stop. When I left the pits there was a lot of vibration and it felt like I had a puncture. But then a few corners later the wheel flew off my car. I made it back to the pits for a replacement but a problem I’d had with my fuel pump since lap two returned and I had to retire.”
It might have been Raikkonen assuming the lead had the Finn managed to overtake Hamilton during an eventful first lap as the Ferrari driver elbowed his way past Nico Rosberg’s Williams, the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull.
“I had a collision on the first corner with Kimi,” said Vettel. “I was on the inside and had a clear run to accelerate, his car came sideways and we touched. He crashed into my car; it can happen. At some point the front-left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car. There are still a few races left this season and the championship fight is still on.”
Vettel dropped to third place on the points standings after Webber finished on the podium for the fourth race in succession. “I think Lewis thoroughly deserved to win today,” said Webber. “It was a good day for the sport to have McLaren and Ferrari back up there.”
Jenson Button, although disappointed with the performance of his Brawn, ought to agree because Hamilton and Raikkonen claimed points that otherwise would have gone to Webber, now Button’s closest championship rival. Button’s team never fully recovered from the setback during qualifying when a rear spring fell off Rubens Barrichello’s car and caused the serious accident involving Felipe Massa. Button’s qualifying was compromised as safety checks were made to his car but the championship leader was not happy from the outset of the race, complaining that he could barely drive the car.
Hamilton had made similar comments about his McLaren during previous races and Button can only hope that his team can recover lost ground during the summer break before the European grand prix on 23 August.
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Hamilton returns to winning ways
July 26th, 2009 |
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• Hamilton scores first victory since October
• Raikkonen faces steward inquiry over crash
Lewis Hamilton produced a faultless display in Hungary to claim his and McLaren’s first grand prix victory of the season, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Mark Webber.
The reigning formula one world champion began the race in fourth place on the grid, but made a superb passing move on Webber to take second place after five laps, before the leader Fernando Alonso went into the pits after claiming pole position with a light fuel load.
Alonso was forced out of the race shortly after his pit stop, when a problem with his right front tyre saw it fly off the Renault and bounce down the track. It was a worrying moment in the race, thoughts of Henry Surtees’ tragic death and Felipe Massa’s accident on Saturday inevitably coming to mind.
But Hamilton, who assumed the race lead when Alonso pitted, maintained his composure to produce the kind of race that have made him one of the most respected drivers on the grid.
There were few threats from other competitors, and he crossed the finish line 70 laps later with Raikkonen and Webber taking second and third positions.
A naturally delighted Hamilton said: “It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and given the struggles for my team. But I’m so proud of them. They’ve never given up, which is so rare to see in a large group of people.
“We didn’t expect to win this weekend. Naturally we’ve caught up, but we didn’t think we had the pace, so it’s very special to win this one.”
Raikkonen could yet be stripped of second following a first-corner collision with Sebastian Vettel that is to be investigated by the stewards.
Webber closed the gap to Jenson Button at the top of the driver’s standings to 18.5 points. The world championship leader had his worst result of the season in the Brawn GP car, finishing in seventh place.
Result
1 Lewis Hamilton
2 Kimi Räikkönen +11.5 secs
3 Mark Webber +16.8 secs
4 Nico Rosberg +26.9 secs
5 Heikki Kovalainen +34.3 secs
6 Timo Glock +35.2 secs
7 Jenson Button +55.0 secs
8 Jarno Trulli +68.1 secs
9 Kazuki Nakajima +68.7 secs
10 Rubens Barrichello +69.2 secs
Overall standings
1) Jenson Button 70
2) Mark Webber 51.5
3) Sebastian Vettel 47
4) Rubens Barrichello 44
5) Nico Rosberg 25.5
6) Jarno Trulli 22.5
7) Felipe Massa 22
8) Lewis Hamilton 19
9) Kimi Räikkönen 18
10) Timo Glock 16
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Massa suffers skull fracture in crash
July 26th, 2009 |
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• Massa flown to hospital for immediate surgery above left eye
• Fernando Alonso on pole following timing system failure
Felipe Massa was airlifted to a Budapest hospital with a skull fracture as the result of an injury received during qualifying for today’s Hungarian grand prix. The Brazilian was knocked unconscious when a spring, which had become detached from the rear suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, struck Massa on the head as he reached 175mph on one of the fastest sections of the Hungaroring.
The Ferrari cut the inside of the left-hand bend that followed soon after, ran straight across a run-off area and embedded itself in a quadruple-layer tyre barrier. The qualifying session was stopped as Massa was removed to the track’s medical centre and stabilised before being flown to hospital, where he successfully underwent emergency surgery. The hospital released a statement last night saying Massa’s condition is serious but stable, adding that surgeons expect him to be awoken this morning after being kept sedated on a respirator overnight.
The spring, weighing around 700 grammes, had somehow penetrated the top of his visor and injured Massa above the left eye, perilously close to the cornea. The accident came six days after 18-year-old Henry Surtees died of injuries received when he was struck on the head by an errant wheel in another freak accident during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
The Brawn team is trying to understand why a standard suspension part, which had previously given no trouble, should suddenly come adrift. The Brawn of Barrichello’s team-mate, Jenson Button, received a thorough check, the delay preventing the leader of the championship from completing as many laps as he would have liked when the final part of qualifying, Q3, resumed. As this crucial phase of the weekend neared its conclusion, qualifying descended to farce when the electronic timing systems failed.
The nine remaining drivers in Q3 climbed from their cars without knowing who had won pole. Each driver had his individual lap time showing on the cockpit display and it was only by comparing times that Fernando Alonso began to realise he had qualified on pole position for the first time in almost two years. “This was a really stressful qualifying,” said the Renault driver. “There was a yellow flag towards the end of Q1 and, at that stage, I was 15th fastest and in danger of not making it [among the fastest 15] to Q2.
“When the track was clear, I had just one lap to do a time without making mistakes and I managed it. Then, at the end, the timing was not working. I asked other drivers what time they had done in order to get a reference and when everyone was saying times which were slower than mine, I started to get excited.”
Mark Webber did not think he had done enough. The winner of the previous grand prix in Germany was heading for a shower when told he would be joining his Red Bull team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, in the press conference for the fastest three qualifiers. “I made a mistake at Turn 2, so I knew Sebastian was faster,” said Webber. “But I thought I hadn’t been quick enough. I had no idea who was on pole. So congratulations to Fernando; that makes it three Renault-engined cars at the front. And Seb and I are in a position to capitalise on the Brawns not doing so well.”
The problem with Barrichello’s car consigned the Brazilian to the 13th fastest time, five places behind Button. It was not the performance Brawn had hoped for after introducing development parts that should have combined with the tight, twisting circuit to return the championship leaders to the front after disappointing races at the Nürburgring and Silverstone.
“I missed most of Q3,” said Button. “We had a failure at the back of Rubens’s car, so we changed my car and put a new part on. That took time and meant I missed my first run. I therefore had more fuel on board than I should have done when doing my time at the end of the session. Eighth is not great and I’m starting on the dirty side of the track.”
Button is hoping that Lewis Hamilton, fourth fastest, will use the Kers performance boost on the McLaren to overtake the Red Bulls on the downhill run to the first corner. There could also be unintentional assistance from Alonso, who is not expecting to win after qualifying with a very light load of fuel.
“It’s always nice to start from pole, especially here because overtaking is difficult,” said Alonso. “Also, this circuit is special for me because I won my first grand prix here in 2003. But, to be honest, our aim is to get on to the podium for the first time this season.” Rather than thinking about Alonso, Vettel is more concerned about the immediate challenge from behind, not only from Hamilton and the fifth-place Williams of Nico Rosberg, but Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren and the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, both of which have the Kers energy retention system.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle, so it’s a bit of a surprise to be on the front row,” said Vettel. “The main thing is that we are ahead of the Brawns. The biggest threat is right behind us and it’s a question of whether they will pass us on the right or the left on the run to the first corner.”
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Massa crashes in qualifying race
July 25th, 2009 |
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• Alonso takes pole with Red Bull duo second and third
• Button qualifies in eighth with Hamilton fourth
Felipe Massa is to undergo surgery following his accident in today’s Hungarian grand prix qualifying.
Although word emerged after a chaotic session that Massa was “okay” after being airlifted to a nearby Budapest hospital, Ferrari later confirmed the Brazilian would need an operation.
A statement read: “After the accident during the qualifying session, Felipe was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest. Felipe was conscious at the arrival of the hospital, and his general conditions remain stable.
“Following a complete medical examination, it emerged he had suffered a cut on his forehead, bone damage to his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care.”
A Ferrari official confirmed the Brazilian “was hit by something on the helmet, losing control of the car” in the closing stages of the middle 15-minute session. Both team principal Stefano Domenicali and team spokesperson Luca Colajanni later confirmed Massa was out of the event.
The 28-year-old was struck by a piece of debris deposited by Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP.
Replays showed a part of the car coming off the Brawn and bouncing along the same area of the Hungaroring track where the drama began for Massa. Massa later caught the debris, on one of his hot laps, which then bounced up, striking his helmet and knocking him unconscious. Massa’s feet must have relaxed at that point, one on the throttle as on-screen graphics showed it remained open, the other on the brake as there were skid marks across the considerable run-off area before he ploughed nose first into a tyre barrier. The fact Massa made no attempt to turn out of the impact appeared to underline the fact he was not conscious as he hurtled into the tyres.
With Massa stricken in the car, photographs later emerged showing a fist-sized dent in his helmet, and with his visor up, there was a large cut over a blackened left eye. Massa was soon attended to by trackside medics before being taken to the circuit’s medical centre, then to hospital for further examination 22 minutes after his crash.
To add to the drama, the timing screens went black towards the end of the top-10 shootout, throwing everybody into confusion as not even the drivers had a clue as to who had taken pole. After several minutes, it finally came through that Fernando Alonso for Renault had taken pole, followed by the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, with Lewis Hamilton fourth for McLaren.
It was the double world champion’s first pole since the Italian Grand Prix in 2007, and the 18th of his career. Explaining the chaos at the end, Alonso said: “We were chatting amongst ourselves in parc ferme trying to find out what happened. It was a fantastic effort from the team. We put in some new parts at the Nurburging [German Grand Prix], and we’ve showed we have made a step forward.”
Behind world champion Hamilton will be Williams’ Nico Rosberg, the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with championship leader Jenson Button down in eighth. The heat of Budapest was meant to aid Button’s cause after the cool of Britain and Germany had led to Red Bull one-twos in the last two races. But not even the sunshine could come to Button’s aid, and his 21-point lead in the title race threatens to be eroded further at the Hungaroring.
Behind Button are Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima, with Massa 10th as he naturally took no part in the closing 10 minutes, however, he will be in a position to race tomorrow.
In the 15-minute Q2, the biggest loser was Rubens Barrichello, with the Brazilian failing to make it into the top 10 for the first time this season due to the part that broke off his car.
The 37-year-old will start a miserable 13th, with that failure potentially wrecking his championship chances, which could now prompt Brawn into putting all their eggs into Button’s basket.
Although rookie Jaime Alguersuari became the youngest to take part in a Formula One qualifying session, there was no fairytale for the 19-year-old. Alguersuari had run faultlessly through three practice sessions, at least proving he was anything but “a danger” as suggested by triple world champion Niki Lauda.
In qualifying, however, Alguersuari was undermined by an electrical fault that forced him to pull his Toro Rosso off track in the final sector. Come the conclusion of the 20-minute period, Alguersuari sat at the bottom of the timesheets, in many respects where he was expected to finish even if his car had not let him down.
Grid positions after qualifying
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1min 21.569secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:21.607, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:21.741, 4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:21.839, 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:21.890, 6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:22.095, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:22.468, 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:22.511, 9 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:22.835, 10 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.002, 11 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:21.082, 12 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:21.222, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.242, 14 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 1:21.389, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.738, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:21.807, 17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:21.868, 18 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.901, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:22.359. Not racing: 10 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari No time
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Alonso grabs shock Hungary pole
July 25th, 2009 |
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HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Venue: Hungaroring Dates: 24-26 July 2009 Coverage: Live coverage of Friday’s practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race – which starts at 1300 BST – across BBC TV, radio and online platforms.Find full listings here
By Sean Chaney
Lewis Hamilton put in some scorching laps late on in Saturday’s final session to continue McLaren’s dominance in Hungarian Grand Prix practice.
Hamilton’s fastest lap of of one minute 21.009 was 0.399 seconds quicker than BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld in second.
Williams’ Nico Rosberg set the third fastest time ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.
Brawn’s Jenson Button was 17th as his Red Bull title rivals Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were ninth and 10th.
More to follow</p
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Live – Hungary Grand Prix practice
July 24th, 2009 |
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LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)
606: DEBATEYour thoughts on the action
To get involved text us on 81111 with FORMULA 1 before your message. (Not all contributions can be used; UK mobiles only; network rates apply)
By Caroline Cheese
BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Hungaroring: "The big interest this weekend is whether the hot temperatures in Hungary will allow Brawn, who have struggled to get optimum tyre temperature in the cool conditions of the last two races, to compete with Red Bull. Jenson Button’s car has what the team believe will be a fairly major upgrade, with a new diffuser, rear wing and bodywork. Among other teams with new bits, Heikki Kovalainen has the new diffuser and front wing that made such a difference to Lewis Hamilton’s car last time out, and Kimi Raikkonen has the new front wing that only Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa had in Germany. And Toro Rosso have the new parts that have put Red Bull in a league of their own since Silverstone – a new diffuser, front wing, nose and top bodywork."0847: So it’s a big F1 welcome toJaime Alguersuarithis weekend, the 19-year-old with an obscene amount of vowels in his name. He steps into Sebastien Bourdais’s seat at Toro Rosso. I say welcome, but there are already murmurings of discontent from the other drivers. The Spaniard has done two straight-line tests in an F1 car – meaning not only will today be the first time he drives an F1 circuit, it will be the first time he goes round a corner in an F1 car. Lewis Hamilton says he "wouldn’t have been ready" while Jenson Button added: "At his age it could absolutely destroy his career. It could end his dream of being competitive in Formula 1."BBC Sport’s Sarah Holt on Twitter:"Just arriving at the track courtesy of an access road for big wigs and media. It’s called Bernie Avenue."
0839: The all-important weather update from the Hungaroring is that it’s warm, about 33C, but will be getting cooler through the weekend. When I say cooler, I mean 26C on Sunday, which sounds positively roasting to me. No sign of any rain.0830: Good morning. Such is my obsession with F1 these days that last night I dreamt BBC Sport’s Sarah Holt gave me an Adrian Sutil cake. It’s got me thinking: there’s a gap in the cake market there, isn’t there
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Webber charges to first F1 pole
July 11th, 2009 |
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GERMAN GRAND PRIX
Venue: Nurburgring Dates: 10-12 July 2009 Coverage: Live coverage of Friday’s practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race – which starts at 1300 BST – across BBC TV, radio and online platforms.Find full listings here
By Russell Barder
Lewis Hamilton’s upgraded McLaren continued to top the timesheets in Saturday’s German Grand Prix practice at the Nurburgring.
Running with a new aerodynamic package the Briton was quickest on Friday and he maintained his good form as he clocked one minute 31.121 seconds.
The Renault of Fernando Alonso was second and Ferrai’s Felipe Massa third.
Championship leader Jenson Button was down in 11th as the drivers struggled for grip in the cold conditions.
606: DEBATEThe Legend that is PhilSlocombe
The Red Bull’s of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were fourth and fifth respectively, while Kimi Raikkonen made up the top six in his Ferrari.
Hamilton’s performance was just reward for his McLaren team who have worked tirelessly to get a new floor, new top bodywork and front wing onto the world champion’s car.
However, it is difficult to know what difference the changes have made until after Saturday’s qualifying session when the fuel loads are known.
The 24-year-old’s team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, who is running without the new package, was only 19th fastest – over one and half seconds behind Hamilton.
Ferrari have also come to Germany having made a few aerodynamic tweaks and they too appeared to pay dividends with both drivers in the top six.
But it was a different story for leading constructor Brawn GP as Button complained of being unable to get any heat into his front tyres.
The Briton’s team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, also struggled as he finished down in 14th.</p
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Button out for revenge
July 11th, 2009 |
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Brawn-GP’s Jenson Button has a score to settle with Sebastian Vettel at tomorrow’s German F1 Grand Prix. Vettel, the Red Bull driver, seeks a victory on home soil, but Button, who was foiled by the 22-year-old in his bid to win his own home race at Silverstone three weeks ago, will be out to
Lewis Hamilton fastest in practice
July 10th, 2009 |
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• Briton unexpectedly tops standings at Nürburgring
• Sebastian Vettel third fastest ahead of Jensen Button
Lewis Hamilton pulled off a major surprise by setting the fastest time in practice for Sunday’s German grand prix. The world champion had the No1 alongside his name, to match that on his car, for only the second time in practice in what has so far been a season to forget.
Hamilton had suggested yesterday that little would change in the wake of a wretched sequence of results which has seen him fail to make the second round of qualifying at the last three grands prix.
With just nine points from eight races to date, Hamilton currently trails the championship leader Jenson Button by 55 points, with McLaren’s focus already starting to switch towards next season. Yet the 24-year-old found himself out in front at the end of the two 90-minute sessions at the Nürburgring – the scene of the worst accident of his career two years ago when he his car ploughed nose first into a barrier at 175mph.
Despite a late spin, Hamilton put up a time of 1min 32.149sec that no-one was able to better in the closing stages, pushing Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel down into second.
Vettel had looked set to cheer his home fans by taking top spot, but the 22-year-old was 0.182sec adrift. Button was third in his Brawn, just 0.220sec down, whilst Mark Webber – fastest in the morning session – had to settle for fourth in his Red Bull, 0.331sec behind Hamilton.
Toyota’s Jarno Trulli again fared well in fifth, and with the gremlins taken care of after a truncated morning run, Adrian Sutil was sixth in his Force India. It was an up-and-down day for Force India, as Giancarlo Fisichella, who was also sixth in the morning, crashed out in the afternoon when he spun into a barrier, ripping off his nose cone.
There was also drama in the paddock when German police attempted to impound the team’s assets due to a contractual dispute just before first practice. The situation was swiftly resolved by Force India officials, with the promise their weekend will continue without further disruption.
Behind Sutil, Button’s Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello was seventh, with Renault’s Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet sandwiching Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima in eighth, ninth and 10th.
The Ferrari duo of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen were 12th and 16th, with the latter’s Finnish compatriot Heikki Kovalainen 17th in his McLaren, 1.575sec behind team-mate Hamilton.
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