3 Birthday Wishes for Jenson Button
Jenson Button has seen more birthdays than all bar one of his Formula One rivals, and today, January 19, he celebrates another. But though he's now more than twice the age of his youngest rival, Button remains one of the sport's top competitors.
After two miserable years, he'll be hoping 35 is a good age to be.
Lumbered with uncompetitive machinery from McLaren, the 2009 world champion has scored just one podium in the last 38 grands prix. Where race wins were once the order of the day, Button has got used to finishing fifth, sixth or seventh.
But things might be about to change. The Brit has a different team-mate, engine and marital status for 2015—maybe the results will be different too.
Button received an early birthday present last month in the form of a new McLaren deal. Here are three other "gifts" he might wish for in the year ahead.
A Long and Happy Marriage
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Button had a difficult 2014. He lost dad John in January, endured a difficult season in an uncompetitive McLaren and had to wait until December 11 to find out if he would have an F1 drive in 2015.
But the year ended on a positive note when he married long-term partner Jessica Michibata at the end of December. Jessica is a regular at race meetings so the newlyweds are unlikely to spend a lot of time apart. That arrangement has worked for them so far and will hopefully remain the case long into the future.
There's more to life than motor racing. Even if McLaren and Honda do conspire to produce a poor car, here's hoping Button's home life more than makes up for it.
Equal Footing with Fernando Alonso
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Fernando Alonso was No. 1 from the day he walked into Maranello to the day he left. Felipe Massa was always a clear second driver and Kimi Raikkonen was not quick enough to have been considered as anything but the same.
It was that way before he joined Ferrari, too. In fact, the last time he found himself fighting on equal terms with a driver going at a similar speed was 2007. The Mirror reports he asked McLaren to force Lewis Hamilton to play a supporting role; the resulting refusal and fallout led to the Spaniard leaving the team.
The Alonso of today seems a slightly more relaxed and accommodating chap than the younger, fiery Fernando of 2007. He and Button also appear to get on well by F1 standards.
But one suspects the Hamilton of 2007 had more value to McLaren than the Button of 2015, while Alonso is now seen as more important than he was back then. If the request for sole No. 1 status is made, this time he'll probably get it.
Hopefully it won't come to that. The fans want to see the pair fight on an equal footing, and Button certainly deserves it.
A Competitive Car
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Button's career was a slow-burner so far as quick cars were concerned.
In his first nine years in F1 he only had one truly good car—the 2004 BAR, which he drove to a fine third in the championship.
A four-year period between 2009 and 2012 saw him in race-winning machinery, but since then it has been back to the midfield scrapping he got so very used to in the leaner seasons.
Can the arrival of Honda and highly rated technical staff like Peter Prodromou push McLaren back to the front of the field? The news reported in Autosport that Honda would be allowed to join their rivals in doing limited in-season development to their power unit may help.
Whether or not this is his final year, Button will be hoping to add to his 15 race wins. When you're used to winning, trailing home in the lower reaches of the points can't be a lot of fun.
A strong McLaren is good for the sport too.
Happy Birthday Jenson—and all the best for the year ahead.
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