F1: The Real Jenson Button Revealed in 2009?

We are now seven races into the 2009 F1 season, and it is drastically different from what anybody could have anticipated following the close-knit results of the past two seasons.

2007 saw a thrilling climax in Brazil with Kimi Raikkonen pipping new kid Lewis Hamilton by a point. 2008 saw a similar result with Hamilton clinching the title by a single point over Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Jenson Button scored six points throughout the whole of 2007 and three points in 2008. How things have changed.

Turkey was the 159th race in Button's career and his sixth victory of the season. Brawn GP kicked off 2009 in unbelievable fashion by setting the pace in pre-season testing and by heading a 1-2 finish in qualifying ahead of the opening race in Melbourne.

But no one could have expected this kind of form to continue so far.

Yes, McLaren and Ferrari were behind with development on their cars, but that was because they were locked in a tight battle right up to the end of last season. Everyone was expecting them to have bounced back by now.

So far, Ferrari are the only ones who have shown promising pace in recent races. McLaren, meanwhile, have been dogged by unreliability and a general lack of speed so far. No doubt we will see a return to form at some point, but the focus remains on Brawn GP and Jenson Button.

So how has this happened? Only a few months ago, Jenson Button was facing unemployment with the withdrawal of the Honda name from the sport. With job losses imminent at the British factory, Ross Brawn got in the mix and got the team up and running under a new banner and sponsorship.

Retaining drivers like Button and Rubens Barrichello ensured dedication and speed, but was a championship feasible? Before the weekend of the Australian GP, most would have said no, and even after, people were wondering if it was just a flash in the pan. However, another pole position and win at the subsequent race in Malaysia seemed to silence the doubters.

This Brawn was quick, Button was fitting in nicely, and more importantly, was gathering maximum points from races.

Is it the car? Is it the driver? Some would argue for the former, others for the latter. Myself, I believe that we are seeing Button as he probably should have been a few years ago. His debut year in 2000 with Williams saw him produce a fourth-place finish at Monza before he was replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya the following season.

Button's time with the Benetton team was hardly spectacular. In 2003, he moved to what was then the BAR Honda team, where he was given time to adjust. And sure enough, the speed and talent seemed to be unlocked in 2004 where he became a regular visitor to the podium, reaching the second step in Monaco that year.

Since Honda took over the team in 2006, Button's only real success was at the Hungaroring, where he demonstrated a superb drive in changeable weather conditions and pretty much outclassed the likes of Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. That it was his only win of that season is unfortunate, as he was well up for it at the final round in Brazil.

Two tumultuous years followed where he was faced with a slow car and a team that was slowly rebuilding itself under Ross Brawn. As testament to his character, Button looked at his dismal run directly in the eye and emerged ever confident. Approaching 30, people were beginning to write his career off. But that all changed in March this year.

Six wins in seven races. It's a stat that is very rare and hasn't been since Michael Schumacher's championship year of 2004. Button is no Schumacher, but he is proving to be formidable force in 2009. Will he go on to achieve what was once thought impossible and take the driver's title? I think he will.

What we are seeing is not a new Button, but the old one, as he should have been. It's a long way to Abu Dhabi in November, but I think he's got the legs to get him there.