Formula 1 has always been an unending roller coaster of excitement, but 2009 is different because the excitement has been on-track as much as off-track. Had it been a Ferrari or a McLaren winning 6 of the first 7 races of the year, we would have again condemned F1 for being boring and pedestrian, but Brawn GP has really caught everyone’s eye with their ‘zero-to-hero’ fairytale story.
Last year, after Honda’s withdrawal from F1, any ‘pundit’ worth his salt would have written off the careers of Button and Barrichello, saying they were too old and past their prime. How much can change in a few months. Nowadays, the words Jenson Button and ‘2009 Formula 1 World Champion’ are being uttered in the same sentence by many of those same ‘pundits’.
It proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there are drivers out there who can win F1 races and championships if only they had the right car. Unfortunately though, it also proves that the drivers’ contribution to the performance of a team is being more and more marginalized by the skills and intelligence of the engineers and designers. And now all the teams have made some improvements to their cars, with almost all of them now running one form or other of the infamous ‘double-diffuser’.
In the recently concluded Turkish Grand Prix, the qualifying was probably the closest it’s ever been, especially in terms of lap-times, with the top 10 cars all lapping within 1 second of pole position in the Q3 session. Eventually, it was Vettel who put in a stunning lap, followed by Button, Barrichello and Webber. But in the race, Button overtook pole sitter Sebastian Vettel on the very first lap following a mistake by the Red Bull driver and held on for a 6.7-second win over Red Bull’s Mark Webber for his fourth straight win of this season. And now, Button is topping the list of drivers’ standings with 61 pts followed by Barrichello and Vettel with 35 and 29 pts, respectively and it all seems Button will be lifting his first World Championship unless something abysmal happens.
Last year, after Honda’s withdrawal from F1, any ‘pundit’ worth his salt would have written off the careers of Button and Barrichello, saying they were too old and past their prime. How much can change in a few months. Nowadays, the words Jenson Button and ‘2009 Formula 1 World Champion’ are being uttered in the same sentence by many of those same ‘pundits’.
It proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there are drivers out there who can win F1 races and championships if only they had the right car. Unfortunately though, it also proves that the drivers’ contribution to the performance of a team is being more and more marginalized by the skills and intelligence of the engineers and designers. And now all the teams have made some improvements to their cars, with almost all of them now running one form or other of the infamous ‘double-diffuser’.
In the recently concluded Turkish Grand Prix, the qualifying was probably the closest it’s ever been, especially in terms of lap-times, with the top 10 cars all lapping within 1 second of pole position in the Q3 session. Eventually, it was Vettel who put in a stunning lap, followed by Button, Barrichello and Webber. But in the race, Button overtook pole sitter Sebastian Vettel on the very first lap following a mistake by the Red Bull driver and held on for a 6.7-second win over Red Bull’s Mark Webber for his fourth straight win of this season. And now, Button is topping the list of drivers’ standings with 61 pts followed by Barrichello and Vettel with 35 and 29 pts, respectively and it all seems Button will be lifting his first World Championship unless something abysmal happens.
