Martin Brundle: "Jenson Button is the most complete driver"

[DaveKillens]

Although Button's 2009 results speak volumes (6 wins from 7 starts and a huge points lead for the WDC), this debate has become subjective. I fear this thread will become another "who is the best driver.." kind of thing.
Right now, Button is the man of the moment.

[KiwiF1]

he has had some really poor seasons, being beaten by not particularly highly rated drivers. Last season in fact...

Button's only been signifcantly outperformed by his team mate twice - 2001 versus Fisichella, and last year against Barichello.

Debut season in 2000 he was behind results-wise against Schumacher, but he gave a good account of himself. In 2002 Trulli often outqualified him, but Button significantly outscored him over the season and often outraced him. At BAR he showed Villeneuve and Sato the way home in each season he raced against them. He outperformed Barichello in 06 and 07.

So as I see it, although he's not always dominated his team mate, he's never been disgraced. 2001 was his worst season, where he was an inexperienced driver in an awful car against Fisichella, who had a much greater reserve of single seat knowledge to draw on to drive around the car's problems.

And last year - the fact that he outperformed Barichello in 06, 07 and this year suggests it was a blip - whether that was due to motivational issues or the car suiting Barichello better is a matter for discussion. In any case, it's no disgrace to be outperformed by Barichello - he was and still is a quick guy.

Perhaps. However i would like to say whilst it may not be a disgrace, in a discussion over wether he is worthy of being refered to as the best all round driver on the grid, to be beaten by drivers who will be remembered by history as decidedly average three times in a career is a big negative no matter the circumstances. And barrichello may not be the slowest guy on the grid, however he is very much average and has never really done much to suggest otherwise.

I suppose though to counter my own argument, we are talking 2009 not 2001 and 2008, and in 2009 he has absolutly and unarguably been the standout driver.

[mortigitempo]

wether he is worthy of being refered to as the best all round driver on the grid

I don't think he necessarily is the best all round driver on the grid. But I do think slating him because he was beaten as a rookie by Fisichella is a ridiculous argument.

Button is a quality driver who is able to extract a high degree of performance out of a car that works with his style. I'm not convinced that he's the best driver by any stretch in a poor car, but I do think that in a good car he would match or exceed the performance of any other driver on the grid. He needs to be at one with the car to perform to his potential, but if he is, he's exceptionally fast - probably more so than a 'hustler' such as Hamilton.

Make your own decision as to where that leaves him in absolute terms talent-wise. What's undeniable is that he's doing a brilliant job this season.

[gcdugas]

A question I sincerely hope some off you will answer after considering it:

If every driver in the field had a Brawn, who would win most consistently?

In order... "complete driver"

1 Alonso
2 Trulli, yes, Jarno, very complete, race craft, quali, car development
3 LH, say what you will he did very good against FA when it was all new to him
4 JB I held this view before now. renowned smoothness, 2004 + 2006 season
5 SV (not complete yet, he tossed Melbourne needlessly)
6 FM really grew last year, very complete driver, quiet and loyal, developer
7/8 NR/RK maybe RK/NR (both deserve better cars)
9 RB (more complete than Kimi because of superior feedback and car development)
10 Kimi (no more fire in the belly, very sad, Monaco reminded us of what once was)
11 MW (quickly becoming mediocre, has acknowledged bad luck)
12 NH (finished races, sneaky fast, holds his own against RK just fine)
13 TG
14 HK
15 KN
16 Buemi (maybe a future star but not close to "complete" yet)
17 Sutil
18 GF (would have rated him as high as 5th in 2003, give DiGrassi his seat)
19 Bourdais
20 Piquet (name only, Hockenheim '08 was a fluke when the stars aligned and he didn't mess it up.)



In order... win consistently in a Brawn

1 Alonso
2 Trulli
3 LH
4 JB
5 SV
6 FM
7 RK
8 Kimi (you can't unlearn somethings)
9 NR
10 MW
11 NH
12 RB
13 TG
14 Buemi
15 GF (fast car would revive him)
16 HK
17 Sutil
18 KN
19 Bourdais
20 Piquet

[modbaraban]

The thread called Martin Brundle: "Jenson Button is the most complete driver" is getting towards it's 100th post =D>

[Conceptual]

I think that of all of the people in this world that is in a position to judge Jenson Button, that Ross Brawn is the only one that I would listen to.

Read or watch the post-race interviews with Brawn on the BBC site, and he tells you exactly where Button stands. Brawn doesn't seem much like a man that blows sunshine up his drivers arses just to stroke their egos.

With the pedigree that Brawn brings, and the amazing drivers that he has worked with over the years, for him to be excited and running out of words to describe Button's performance tells the most complete story out there IMHO.

After Turkey, the BBC guys asked Ross about Jenson and his reply was something like "The guys at Brackley have always told me that Jenson was something special. I didn't really see it last year because of the car, but this year he has been nearly perfect."

That is NOT a direct quote (my BBC proxy died Sunday ), but the quote was something VERY close to this.

Ross Brawn's opinion > Martin Brundle's opinion when it comes to assessing the Brawn GP driver lineup, so that is the opinion that I would really take to heart.

[Washngo]

In order... "complete driver"

1 Alonso
2 Trulli, yes, Jarno, very complete, race craft, quali, car development

an amusing comment.

The only race craft Jarno excels at is starting slow, and then getting progressively slower as the race goes on. Not exactly my definition of a 'complete driver'.

And car development. Where on earth is your evidence for this?

[PlatinumZealot]

Jenson Button has the most points but Is he complete? complete means whole.. a whole is one..There is only But-ONE... No not Butt-on.. "But-ONE"

Hamilt-ONE is.... THE ONE...

[modbaraban]

I saw a Hamolt-OFF last Sunday

[enkidu]

In order... "complete driver"

1 Alonso
2 Trulli, yes, Jarno, very complete, race craft, quali, car development

an amusing comment.

The only race craft Jarno excels at is starting slow, and then getting progressively slower as the race goes on. Not exactly my definition of a 'complete driver'.

And car development. Where on earth is your evidence for this?

1. Alonso probably the most Arrogant driver in F1. But like all drivers he can't win in a rubbish car eh?

[gcdugas]

In order... "complete driver"

1 Alonso
2 Trulli, yes, Jarno, very complete, race craft, quali, car development

an amusing comment.

The only race craft Jarno excels at is starting slow, and then getting progressively slower as the race goes on. Not exactly my definition of a 'complete driver'.

And car development. Where on earth is your evidence for this?

Just look at Toyotas improvement once they returned to the path that Jarno recommended after they foolishly chose Ralf's way over Jarno's way in 2005. Once Ralf was gone and Jarno's car philosophy was pursued things improved rapidly. As to racecraft... Jarno gets the car to the finish line, doesn't crash or over-stress his equipment and finishes higher that the car deserves just like FA.

[mortigitempo]

Trulli - excellent over one lap - probably the best qualifying driver of the lot. Over a race - not so much. That's been seen over his whole career - at Renault, Toyota and further back. He often disappears in races, then suddenly comes alive for a brief period, often when he's fallen out of the reckoning.

[Giblet]

Has Trulli been doing this lately? In comparison to his teammate at least?

I like his nickname on SpeedTV. Jarno Trulli the Scrumptious One.

[mortigitempo]

Has Trulli been doing this lately? In comparison to his teammate at least?

yes you're right - he's improved on that aspect of his driving this season.

[safeaschuck]

In order... "complete driver"

1 Alonso
2 Trulli, yes, Jarno, very complete, race craft, quali, car development

an amusing comment.

The only race craft Jarno excels at is starting slow, and then getting progressively slower as the race goes on. Not exactly my definition of a 'complete driver'.

And car development. Where on earth is your evidence for this?

1. Alonso probably the most Arrogant driver in F1. But like all drivers he can't win in a rubbish car eh?

I so wanted not to post anything on this thread but I can't help myself

Arrogant??? Let's get down to it:

The man is a Dick.

A dick with a height complex.

Thanks to this forum and it's many seasoned observers I have come to appreciate Alonso's racecraft far more than my prejudice would otherwise allow, but now we are talking about a man who only two seasons ago tied to blackmail the man who was, at the time, employing him as a driver as the most COMPLETE driver in F1.