Sato v Button

[Frank_White]

Button is becoming the new Coulthard. (that speaks for itself)

Another thing that i have noticed is; Whenever a driver rants on about how good they are and what they are going to do, they never seem to get very far in Formula One. Button has been blabbing on and on from the beginning of the year.

[Smokey 6 litre]

i dont think button is anything like DC.

JB is obviously boosted by good testing but as team leader he has to represent the team and their aims.

I cant remember DC ranting too much about his chances and i doubt that Sato will beat Button anyway.

[Frank_White]

You must be kidding! DC is famous of two things; 1) beautiful women and, 2) talking up his chances before the beginning of every F-1 year.

[jetsetter]

I personally can't see Sato getting anywhere near Button this year.

[Kicking-back]

I think they'll be evenly matched, but Button will have a slight edge.

[Adam43]

Thread title changed: I assumed this was an attempt at discussion rather than a blatant bash...

[Adam43]

I think Button has done alright since he came into F1. Although I don't rate him as highly as others. A few years didn't do too well, but maybe that was because he was a rookie (???). I guess we'll see, this is a crucial year (aren't they all?).

I also think Sato will perform well against Button too. He has the speed and maybe he has tempered it a little.

It'll be an interesting battle.

[Super Tourer]

I agree a good battle ahead, my assessment of Button is that he is great if all the ingredients click into place. He suffered (if that is the right word) by being in a good car too early, so naturally everything he has done since has appeared to be a downward slope.

Last year he matured, I think he will suprise this year and be as good as the BAR let's him be. Sato I rate in a tenacious sort of way, he just needs to be calm and fast at the same time - having said that both his drives at Suzuka were impressive.

They may end up pretty even in qualifying, but Jenson will be the better racer over the season. IMO.

[Sato san]

Originally posted by jetsetter
I personally can't see Sato getting anywhere near Button this year.

Hey ...lets have a bit less of that kind of talk around here if you dont mind !....hehehehe

[Redblurr]

JB is Team Leader now so we will hear more from him - he did well last year against his team mate - and with his experience will do well this year. Jury still out for me

[Glen]

If Sato gets half the points that Button gets he will be doing very well indeed. Jenson is a seriously quick and consistent driver and I think what little he has said about the prospects for 2004 is entirely justified.

So - Frank - what exactly are you on about? Button has said that he is aiming for few podiums... just how exactly is that arrogant? For a better example of arrogance one need look only as far as Jenson's ex team-mate - Jenson is conducting himself in an exemplary manner if you ask me. In the past he has made no bone about his hope to be WDC one day - but presumably all the drivers share that ambition.

[Frank_White]

Case in point; the following is an excerpt from a recent article in Planet F-1: -

"Button has spent the close season predicting great things in 2004. And in his latest interview, this time with British tabloid The People, he says he will only be happy if he wins the World Championship whilst Schumacher is still racing.

"Every driver wants to beat Schumacher and win the title while he's still around because he's won so many championships and done a fantastic job in his career," Jenson said. "I want to win while he's still driving, otherwise people will say I could only win because he wasn't around."

Warming to his theme, Button continued: "British fans are going to have something to shout about because I'm going to give it to them. We've done a lot of winter testing and compared to other teams I think we're ready for it. We need a little more time to make a car that is quick enough to challenge for the title but that time is not far off."

With Takuma Sato replacing Jacques Villeneuve, Button also claims he's ideally suited to take on the role of team leader.

"I have the reactions of a mid-20-year-old but the experience of a much older driver," he declared modestly. "I'm the number one driver in the team now and that is good for me because my feedback is very important."

Confidence, it seems, isn't a problem."

[Rennen]

I've had the opportunity to observe both of them in action and out the driving seat over the years. JB has always taken an uncomplicated very possitive attitude to his pre- race prospects, now he has four seasons of f1 experience to lean on.

TS tends to run before he can walk, so his speed can trip him up on occassions (as we all have seen)...something he will address with more experience (hopefully). Out of the car he studies the data very intensly and will lock onto any advantage JB has over him and will go for it!

[BootsOntheSide]

That article has clearly been dressed up by the writer to make Jenson appear arrogant - the use of expressions such as "he declared modestly" is a big clue.

Of course he wants to beat Michael Schumacher. He's the best, and the kudos to defeating superstars is the main thing. If you ask Montoya, Raikkonen, ALonso etc whether they would value a title more if it's against Michael, they'd all say yes.

British drivers haven't achieved much in recent years, and Jenson could be the only one in a top seat for some years. It's only natural that he would try to get the popularity among those fans who cheered on Nigel and Damon in the past.

[Super Tourer]

Surely one of the main criteria of any racing driver is to have supreme 100% confidence in your own ablity. Nothing new in that.

In the end, we have to take all these driver interviews on face value, the press have 6 months of barely nothing happening to turn into comment, ditto for the drivers

Every driver is confident pre-season, as their teams would surely expect them to be.

[Rennen]

Boots...Remember Button has been groomed for this very role by the media since 1997/8 when he was 'fast-tracked' as a Hill/Mansell icon replacement. JBs not arrogant as Frank has suggested, hes just a very uncomplicated confident fellow. Hes also responding to his team bosses request for him to be more assertive as team leader.

One things for sure if the BAR/Honda runs as well in the southern hemisphere as it has been in the northern, JB certainly has the speed to make good use of it.

[Frank_White]

All that i am saying is, that as far as i can remember World Champions never exhibited the type of words before action demeanour that Button is showing.
Even the best drivers of the current paddock are more subdued and serious.

For example:
MS
GF
KR
JM
FA
MW

They are all measured in their predictions. They exhibit a kind of "i'm hoping for the best, i will try my hardest" type attitude.

Then along comes Button (who has never even attained a podium), with this jewel of a quote; "British fans are going to have something to shout about because I'm going to give it to them..."

Come on, isnt this reminiscient to the famous Coulthard utterance, "this is going to be my year!"

Mind you, i'm not bashing Button, but even MS doesn't leave himself open to fall from the great heights where Button is perching.

[Glen]

Originally posted by Frank_White
Mind you, I'm not bashing Button...

Oh no - 'course not.

[OVERSTEER]

I think that Button and Sato will push each other this year, something which BAR haven't had before, But I think Button will have the edge over Sato the majority of the time.

[Rennen]

I remember Robbie Williams (some sort of pop singer I'm told) on a TV chat show with Michael Schumacher...and said to Schumi..."My mate Jenson Button is gunna kick your a**e!"...Opps!...Who needs mates like that?

[Kicking-back]

Originally posted by Frank_White
Come on, isnt this reminiscient to the famous Coulthard utterance, "this is going to be my year!"

Such a "famous utterance" that David has never said.

[Peter Mallett]

Dunno what all the fuss is about. I like Jensen just because he likes doing what he does.

Hmm. I like MS for that too.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by Frank_White
Even the best drivers of the current paddock are more subdued and serious.

For example:
JM

nah!

[Knowlesy]

Let me first say, I'm a fan of Satos. I like him, very under-rated and deserved a seat last year. more than Villeneuve did anyways. There are race wins in the lad, given the right circumstances.

But I think Jenson will comprehensively beat him this year. Button seems so relaxed and mature, has the necessary experience and wants to impress the Williams management (come on, he knows it! ).

Jenson will come of age this year! Or did he do that last year? Errr....

[neilap]

Frank, what would you have JB say? ...he hopes he can be fast... he hopes he can get a podium... he hopes...

Those are not the words of a leader or a determined racer. This is a new low in bashing. I can see bashing RS for saying stupid things or not racing hard. I can see bashing MS because he gets everything his way at Ferrari. I can even see bashing JPM because he races hard and takes many chances but bashing Button for being confident!?

Every racer in F1 wants to beat MS before he leaves. If you cant beat the best you will never be seen as the best!

Button is young but has gone through as much as most drivers in F1 today. He has been high, low and in between. Now he feels comfortable, relaxed and that he has a team behind him. Even at Williams he did not have that.