Can Button match Hamilton ?

Jenson Button’s decision to sign for McLaren means he will head into his world title defence facing the toughest challenge of his career.Button joins Lewis Hamilton in an all-English line-up that will have those watching F1 salivating. Some will be attracted by two such appealing figures in the same team – not to mention the glamour that will be provided by their respective girlfriends. Others will be fascinated to see how the two drivers match up on the track.And that is where the risks for the McLaren new boy are immense, even though Button has seven years’ more experience than his new partner.As I explored in my blog on Monday, Hamilton is considered by many observers to be the fastest driver in F1. Button may be the reigning world champion, but he has not yet proved to be quite in the same league as Hamilton, or the new Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.The issue is not Button’s pure pace when everything is to his satisfaction. At times like that, there are few, if any, faster than him, as he proved with his glorious run to six victories in the first seven races of 2009, the foundation of his title campaign.The problem Button will face is that, as one former F1 driver put it on Wednesday: “He needs a perfect car – that’s been obvious throughout his career.”When he is not happy with his car, Button can struggle – and Hamilton provides a sterner challenge than any of his team-mates so far.Complicating the issue at McLaren next year will be that Hamilton and Button like very different things from their racing cars.Hamilton likes a rear end that moves around a lot – he uses the rapid change of direction that provides to pitch him quickly into the corner and get him pointing in the right direction for the exit as soon as possible.It is an unusual style, for the simple reason that it makes the car unstable – but Hamilton does not worry about that, he simply corrects the slide he knows is coming and carries on.Button’s style is completely different. He likes a stable rear end, using subtly changing pressure on throttle, brake and steering to alter the car’s direction. Give him a loose rear end, and he struggles.Can McLaren provide two cars set up in such different ways? Even if they can, will they want to, given the two varying…

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Posted by admin 11 December 2009

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