Wake up Jenson.

[Peter Mallett]

This from the Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai...6/smform16.xml

Button warms to the task
By Kevin Garside
(Filed: 16/03/2004)
Jenson Button is shorter odds to win the world drivers' championship than David Coulthard. The prospect is distant for both, of course, but like many in Formula One the bookies are on to British American Racing's leading man.
Button is not yet a man for all season. Odds of 66-1 reflect that. But for the one-off punt, there will be no better value this weekend than Button at the Malaysian Grand Prix. While Coulthard and his ailing McLaren team arrive shackled by introspection after an appalling start to the season in Australia, Button is revelling in a doubt-free zone.
The very mention of the 'F' word has had team principals recoiling in horror. Not at BAR, where Ferrari remain a team to be shot at not feared. Button qualified fourth in Australia and ran third before crossing the line sixth for three valuable points. The result produced long faces not joy, a sure sign of the progress made under David Richards and the shift in expectation.
After a short break Button was straight on the pace during a weekend spent in Malaysia in the company of his trainer preparing for the toughest race of the season for car and driver. Temperatures soar to almost 50C (120F) in the cockpit and even higher on the track. Last season Justin Wilson ended his second grand prix attached to an intravenous drip so fatigued and dehydrated had he become. And he did not even finish the race. Yet Button says, "bring it on".
"After the encouraging start we had in Melbourne last weekend, the Malaysian Grand Prix is looking good for us," Button said.
"It's great to be on the scoreboard already and we are going to Sepang with an even better package, so there is no reason to think we can't qualify and race well again.
"It's given me confidence that the BAR was so reliable in the first race and, now that we have so much more experience with the car and Michelin tyres, we should be able to improve on our race pace."
Much of the credit for the reconstituted BAR car goes to technical director Geoff Willis, recruited by Richards from Williams at the end of 2002, and the engine manufacturer Honda, who have produced a smaller, lighter, more powerful unit despite the rule change allowing the use of only one power plant per weekend.
Willis was charged with reorganising the whole design effort in Brackley and adding innovation to hard work. "In 2003 we built a very solid engineering foundation which meant we could deal with all the structural parts of the car proficiently," Willis said.
"We had no problems with structural failure, and with that level of engineering in place, it allowed us to be much bolder in 2004. I don't mean risk-taking; rather pushing the boundaries and being more innovative.
"We've proved we can build a car, now is the time to push some of the limits. This philosophy is absolutely key if we are to succeed in our overall target of being the best. I think BAR have produced a car that is pretty sophisticated. A lot of teams will be casting a few envious looks in our direction this year."
It has started already. At the bookies.