The Curious Case of Jenson Button

It's June 2009, and Jenson Button takes a 26-point lead going into his home Grand Prix in Formula One's biggest fairytale. He's finally getting the success he's worked so hard for.

The start of the season showed how things would be changing but none imagined that Ferrari and McLaren's struggle would be so big and that the Brawn GP team would be so dominant.

Jenson isn't complaining though, and the classy Brit takes a deserved lead into Silverstone after taking the 2009 season by storm. There is always debate about driver skill with car performance - many think an average driver could win in the best car.

There is no doubt of Button's talent though, and he always had the potential, despite only being in a competitive car in 2004, when Honda finished second in the championship. His first win came in a strange Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006, at a time when Honda were actually less than competitive.

He remained loyal to the team which seemed to be going backwards, after a strange period where he had apparently agreed to join Williams but had to buy himself out of the contract as he felt they were heading the wrong way.

He started in F1 at Williams, in a difficult period for them. He was forced out in favour of other young drivers and ended up at Benetton. Benetton cars were slow and Jenson regularly occupied positions at the back of the field.

His spirit and determination carried him through and he remained positive. He seized the chance to join BAR Honda in 2003 and had an ok season. 2004 was brilliant for the team and Button regularly outperformed experienced teammate Jacques Villeneuve.

As BAR Honda became the Honda works team, they slipped down the field and Button was well out of contention for championship points. After Honda decided to pull out of the sport for financial reasons before 2009, it looked like Button and his new teammate Rubens Barrichello wouldn't be racing at all.

Ross Brawn, who had spent a season at Honda on his return to F1, decided to turn the team into a new one - the Brawn GP team. With the strong base of the Honda set-up and Brawn's strategic genius, they stood a good chance, and they managed to build a more than competitive car.

Put with the commitment and energy of the two experienced drivers, the team seem unstoppable. Jenson's hunger and desire to win means that he's dominated his vastly more experienced teammate Barrichello, and the rest of the field.

He now regularly laps current world champion Lewis Hamilton, painting a sour face onto the McLaren driver and his father. It's nice to see Button's potential finally being harnessed and put towards a deserved world title, while his enthusiastic and gentlemanly father John looks on gleefully.

It also would be great for Britain to see a different kind of championship-winning Father-Son pairing - one that's actually inherently likable.