Before 2007, Jenson Button was Britain’s greatest hope for Formula One glory. In a very short amount of time, he has been eclipsed by Lewis Hamilton and almost forgotten by all those who aren’t fans of him or Honda.
At the end of the 2006 season, things seemed to be looking pretty good at Honda and for Jenson. An initially disappointing season had developed into a one in which Jenson scored Honda’s maiden victory (as Lucky Strike Honda F1 Racing).
In fact, in the last six races of the season, Jenson scored more points than any other driver (including two world champions).
However, significant changes were made in Honda’s technical ranks, such as the replacement of Geoff Willis with the unsuccessful Shuhei Nakamoto (Nakamoto had been priceless in his development of Honda’s racing motor bikes, unfortunately aerodynamics when applied to four wheels proved not to be his forte).
This and a faulty wind tunnel at Brackly led to a complete U-turn in Honda’s progress. However, as I will now explain, this shouldn’t technically have been a problem.
Since joining F1 in 2000, Jenson Button has had a roller-coaster ride, finishing well one season, then not doing as well, before doing well again the next year (if you follow). Perhaps I’ll just let the stats speak for themselves:
Year: 2000
Team: Williams
Car Number: 10
Finished season: 8
Jenson finishes a very decent eighth in his maiden season, despite rookie errors (the most embarrassing of which involved him crashing whilst under a safety car period in Monza). He put in good performances and qualified as high as third in Belgium.
Year: 2001
Team: Benetton
Car Number: 8
Finished season: 17
A dreadful season in a dreadful car. After finishing eighth the previous year, he could only manage 17th in 2001.
Year: 2002
Team: Renault
Car Number: 15
Finished season: 7
I know it’s only early, but can you see the pattern yet? Eighth, to 17th, to seventh! A pretty good season, narrowly missed his first podium. However, unfortunately the season ended with his replacement by some bloke called Fernando?
Year: 2003
Team: British American Racing
Car Number: 17
Finished season: 9
Ok so 7 to 9 isn’t too bad….but it’s still a step back! Button leads his first lap in the USA and outperforms his world champ teammate Jacques Villeneuve.
Year: 2004
Team: British American Racing
Car Number: 9
Finished season: 3!
Jenson’s best F1 season in which he scored his first ever podium in Malaysia and his first pole position in San Marino. BAR came second in the constructor’s championship and the only drivers to beat Jenson in the drivers standings, carried a prancing horse on their cars!
Year: 2005
Team: British American Racing
Car Number: 3
Finished season: 9
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