Jenson Button better than Senna

[Carla O]

Originally posted by EERO
Carla O, welcome. I believe you meant '84, not '94 as Senna's first season if I am not mistaken.


Be nice, Bouncey; unfortunately '94 was a pretty dreadful year for Senna fans.

Ooops, yeah i meant 84...
And if i could turn back time i'd cancel a certain race after Ratzenbergar died... Or even before... maybe create a freak snowstorn and that weekend would never have happenend...

[crash]

I think JensonF1 is jumping to conclusions. While Jenson is obviously no slowpoke, you have got to remember there have been many young drivers that were compared to Senna, yet have failed to come close.

Nicola Larini, Alesi, Panis, Heidfeld, Trulli and Frenzten are just a few of the drivers that were said to be the next senna, yet did not live up to this title.

As I said, Jenson is fast, no doubt about that, but whether he can win is yet to be seen.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by crash

Nicola Larini, Alesi, Panis, Heidfeld, Trulli and Frenzten

When were they listed as the "next Senna"?

Spme of them were racing when Senna was alive and in the case of Alesi, he was considered too mercurial to qualify for that epithet.

Don't think Button can be the "next Senna" because there was and will be only one. He MAY become as successful but he's got a way to go yet. I hope he makes it.

[neutral]

Jenson has done a lot of impressive things on the track since his arrival, and I give him due credit for that. However, like most others are saying, 1 year is too early to judge his ability. While we have seen quite a bit of him, there are still certain situations which I would like him to conquer. For one, it would be nice to see button in the lead of a race maybe with Hakkinen or Schumi behind. Or a rain drenched Monaco. I believe the measure of a true champion is how he shows his worth in difficult situations. By no means has Button had a simple year, but there are still going to be plenty of new adventures for him to face, and once many hurdles are past then I will begin to judge the promising brit.

[Dino IV]

It's just a matter of perception. Numbers don't matter much; it's not very relevant that Senna was crowned WDC three times; the only thing that matters is how he drove and the impact it had on the spectators. If he would have drove dodgy Lotusses all his career and there where little WDC's, victories or poles to cheer for, his speed would have made him unforgettable still; no matter where relatively in the field he would beat his teammates by 1,5 seconds and more a lap, he still would be regarded in the way he was ... Magic. For sheer brilliant car control and unimaginable speed he's simply unbeatable. Same thing goes for Stefan Bellof. His brilliant speed and awesome lack of fear takes him close to magical performances like Senna. And what did he drive? Lousy Tyrrell's, often naturally aspirated in the Turbo era. But the perception of his abilities makes him my second favourite driver. There's one lap (I'd like to have it on tape, anyone?) which - in my perception - is the greatest in automotive racing. It's Bellof's pole record lap at the old Nurburgring in the Porsche 956. No, that's not F1 but his laptime of little over 6 minutes, with his teammate 45 seconds slower and second, is IMO the best performance by any driver ever. How many WDC's and victories are his to base any of that kind of performance math on? None. Does it really matter? No.

JensonF1 wrongly assumpted that Senna was appreciated for his abilities only because he died and therefore overrated. Not true IMO, he was already considered God as JensonF1 put it - I'd say 'unmatched' - early in his career, and respect for his abilities just rose to, before unseen, proportions during the years. After his death his fans look back in admiration and grief but won't rate him higher now then they did back then. Only nonsens-worshipping that tends to arise now and then is of people who started following F1 after 1994 and tend to fall in ridiculous praise of the man they heared so much about.

So what's this topic about? Jenson the new Senna? Where's that perception based upon? His perfomance compared to Ralf's? So what's the perception of Ralf? Magic? Simply fast? Alright? Average? Slow? Terrible? And what's the perception of the FW22? Top? Just off Ferrari and Mac? Front midfielder? Just in Top10? Back midfield? Backmarker? You'll have to explain those things first before anything can be said about Button. I'll tell you mine. The FW22 is almost there, so just behind Ferrari and Mac, way better than the front midfielders like Jordan. Ralf? I'd like to say slow, but I'll give him a break so average will do, nothing more nothing less. Alright he for sure is not. Simply have a look at the way he drove during the Suzuka qualifying. Those lines, the rude steering, the corrections. Describing that with 'ugly' would be a compliment. So what about Jenson then? Trailed Ralf the first part of the season and went up and beyond in the second part. Good work. So he's alright. But wouldn't Heidfeld, Zonta or de la Rosa for instance have shown the same, let alone better? I guess so.

Next year will get more information for our perceptions. Jenson will have to perform against a proven really fast driver and so will Ralf. And other youngsters will be up there for our notice like Burti against Irvine. We'll see, but I don't think anyone will remind you of any magic the next couple of years.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by Dino IV
Same thing goes for Stefan Bellof. His brilliant speed and awesome lack of fear takes him close to magical performances like Senna. And what did he drive? Lousy Tyrrell's, often naturally aspirated in the Turbo era.

Funnily enough, I was thinking of Bellof when I mentioned the Senna/Brundle rookie years.

I would tend to agree with you on the Senna abilities/level point but your point fails becuase lesser teams would never have been able to keep him.

As to Fissichella? If Button really struggles against him I would think that would be the end of his career. Nope I don't see Fissi as being a particularly brilliant driver.

[Dean T]

Not even M Schumacher comes close to Senna.

[tazzoid]

Also, not to take anything away from Senna, or TGF, but ask any person who doesn't follow F1 religiously what name pops into their head when you mention it, and they will say either TGF or Senna. These are the most highly publicized names in the business. The camera luvs them, they're good with the media, people are interested in their lives, they draw attention. And I think that's why the Butsie debate is so controversial: is his true talent being exaggerated by biased media?