Button

[atom290]

Or "Settled" as he should now be refered to as!

That was awful, Alonso had the sense to battle hard, and in the interview had the guts to say, no I wanted to win! when asked if he was prepared to settle for second place.

Button on the other hand happily sat there and did nothing after being overtaken. And Alonso was setting a really slow pace so it wasnt as though he couldnt catch up???

What happened to the racing spirit? Thank god Alonso has it! I almost put money on Button this year, but thankfully put it on Renault and Alonso

[ccharlie6]

you have to remember that with the new rules the teams have to think one race ahead. on pure pace once micheal was ahead jense couldnt do anything about him. and the last laps when alonso was going slow yes button could have caught up but at the same time could have run the chance of shortening the life of the engine which has to last the barcelona race aswell, which is a track which button just broke the lap record.

[The DJ 27]

Button has never had the racers edge. The first time I saw him race was in his F3 season, and even there he was loathe to go wheel to wheel with people and actually fight for his position. He could easily have blocked Schumacher today, but just stayed on the racing line and let him through. He did the same thing with Montoya in Melbourne. Button is very quick, but he can't race to save his life

[rich 36]

which was the race, where
(while following the pace car) he came off the track and onto the grass or was it just me,

about 3years ago iirc

[Trackside]

Monza, c2000 following Schuey et al towards Parabolica.

[rich 36]

thanks, I was beginning to think the sun really does shine from there, according race fans,

its not a new thing, i've just never seen this ability that he apparently has to race, quite apart from his 'business acumen' in planning his future rides

[rallysanf]

That seems a little harsh on Button. I would agree he has yet to show the killer instinct while battling during a race. However Schumacher hadn't come close to getting past him, in a much faster car. Button was unlucky to catch the 2 Williams scrapping mid corner, so lost out going up the hill.

[foster3jd]

Button was unstoppable in karts and most definitely has a natural racers talent... you doubters should check out his record sometime.

The engine for two races scenario definitely had an effect on his pace in the last few laps and just goes to show how negative that particular rule change has proved to be.

[Phil S]

Even before the race there was talk of dropping the pace in the closing laps to save his Honda engine. I am sure they made a calculation somewhere that unless Shuey or Alonso had an 'off' he was stuck to third place and that his effort was better spent conserving his engine for the next race.

Racing or not, that is the way F1 is now!

[ccharlie6]

sorry but did no one watch the race last year where he started 14th and finished 2nd? in race where he had many wheel to wheel scraps including one through 3 corners side by side with alonso and passing him. when he wants to be im sure he can be a racer

[bruciebabe]

Alonso was saving his engine too and was running on a lower rev limit. He was over a second a lap slower than the Ferrari yet was able to use his skill and determination to keep Michael behind him. Button was not able to do that.
IMHO Alonso is the true racer and so will always get more out of a given car in a race. Button is a very fast driver but needs a superior car to win. He will get the result the car deserves and no better. I bet Alonso ends up at Ferrari and Button doesn't. Michael now has an anoited sucessor who, if anything, looks to be better than him.

[FourWheelDrift]

He was probably running lean to save fuel. He can race when he's allowed to.

[bruciebabie]

FourWheelDrift said:

He was probably running lean to save fuel. He can race when he's allowed to.

I don't think you have quite taken on board the point that I was trying to make. Alonso and Button had about the same pace as each other. Alonso in the better car was nursing a damaged engine. Michael was over a second a lap faster than both. When Michael caught Button up he just rolled over and asked for his tummy to be scratched. Button did not even try to defend his second place against a faster car. When Michael caught Alonso up there was no way past. Alonso was not going to give up his lead to anyone because he is a racer.
Hence Button is a superb and fast driver, one of the best in the world. But his results will always reflect the quality of the car he is driving. Alonso is different, he is that rare combination of driver and racer. He is very fast, maybe not the fastest but he almost certainly is the best racer currently in F1. He is the light in every race now, illuminating the proceedings with this rarest of skills. There are so few F1 drivers ever that have been true racers.
Look at Mansell, there was a racer who was not a great driver. His lack of speed was more than made up for by his racing skills. Most F1 drivers are the other way round, drivers first and racers second.