The Worst Of The Best

So Jenson Button is World Champion. Congratulations. I’m one of many (a large majority I suspect) who felt that this day would never come so well done to Jenson.

But, though he is World Champion, my question is how good is he really?

Mark Hughes reckons Button is the bee’s knees and makes a convincing argument on the BBC F1 Website as to why Button has taken so long to reach this point and why we should acclaim him as a true great. I disagree.

Jenson has had several years in the sport now, but before this year had only won one race at a rain-affected Hungarian Grand Prix. Now you can argue, rightly, that this is due in part to the fact that he was never in one of the grid’s best cars but I counter that point with a simple fact – Button would have been in one of those cars if he was good enough. Remember, this is a man that about twelve months ago looked destined to be booted out of the sport. When Honda jumped ship, he was left without a drive. His commitment to Brawn and his decision to take a pay cut to stay in the sport are commendable, but let’s not fool ourselves and say that Jenson Button is the fastest driver in the world. In the same car, on a dry track, I would fancy Massa, Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel and maybe Kubica to finish ahead of the Briton. He may be World Champion but in my book, Jenson Button is not world class.

Look at his title winning season. Button began the year in a Brawn GP car that was the class of the field. Yes, he took advantage of this, but in truth all he had to do was outrace team-mate Rubens Barrichello. After seven races, Button had 61 points. Since then, he’s won 28 points in nine races. Vettel has won 45, Barrichello 37, Webber 34, Hamilton 40 and Raikkonen has scored 38. Sure, Jenson has been consistent in that he’s scored points in all but one race, but he’s limped across the finishing line. In the second half of the year, he has been mediocre and outraced by all of this title rivals, even a man in the same car as him. He won this World Championship in the first seven races and though that is how the rules are configured, Button has had the worst finish to the season of any champion that I can remember.

Jenson Button has taken advantage of a great situation and for that he does deserve to be commended. However, once the hoopla dies down, I feel that in years to come we will look back on the 2009 Formula One World Championship as a poor one, and it’s champion will be a man who’s fluked his way to the top spot.

More Clowning Around At The F1 Circus

Quite frankly, what is happening in Formula One this week can at best be described as a shit storm.

For those of you who’ve not heard, eight of the ten teams currently taking part in the sport last night announced that they’ve commenced preparations for a breakaway series in what could become the greatest upheaval in the sixty year history of Formula One. Unless a compromise is found between the FIA and the teams’ association FOTA, then it’s possible that Formula One will continue sans Ferrari, McLaren and many of the other teams which have contributed to the history of the greatest form of motorsport.

So how did we get here? Well, the starting point can be debated but this row hit its current zenith when Honda sensationally quit the sport towards the end of last year. Though they were saved and became what we now know as Brawn GP, this signalled a warning sign for the sport’s governing body. Costs needed to be slashed to ensure that grid levels didn’t fall below the current twenty, a move made more necessary and urgent by the recession. Discussions on how exactly to save money left to the proposal of a budget cap, something that many of the teams (especially Ferrari) are against. They accuse the FIA of poor governance, the FIA don’t back down and we’re now as close as ever to the ruination of Formula One.





There are other factors at work aside from the obvious monetary ones. For one, it’s clear that many team principals are unhappy with the stewardship of Max Mosley as President of the FIA. They claimed about him to the World Motorsport Council and a statement released by the FIA in the last few days showed contempt for Ferrari head Luca di Montezemolo. Another statement is due from the FIA this afternoon – I’d expect more of the same.




Today’s development is not unexpected and while my pal James claims that a breakaway series is viable, I have to disagree. Split championships mean split revenues. Is it really feasible for FOTA to organise a Championship on time for next year? Aside from the logistical problems that come with organising events, the teams will have to negotiate deals with tyre suppliers, fuel suppliers etc. Who would televise the deals and, more crucially, who will pay to televise them? Formula One’s main income is from broadcasters and this will not be matched for the FOTA crowd.

I suspect a deal will be reached. Common sense will apply, concessions will be made and Formula 1 will last. Max Mosley will almost certainly have to leave his post as FIA President for this to happen, but I feel he will. The sport’s reputation will be tarnished though. Fans want close racing and great action. Casual fans will be turned off if, when they tune in to Sunday’s race, discussion is dominated by politics. The sport did not need this, and unless a deal is struck soon (this evening's impending deadline for next year’s entry list means that is possible) then the sport could take a long time to recover from this.

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Update

The FIA statement has been released in the last few minutes and will do little to ease tensions. In the statement, which can be seen here, the governing body threaten legal action against FOTA over the breakaway series and again single out Ferrari for criticism. The statement also indicates that the aforementioned entry list will be delayed because of the legal proceedings, which hopefully is a tactic to buy more time to ensure that a deal is struck. The row rumbles on...