Button: Hamilton can learn from my mistakes

[davewilson]

At the ripe old age of 27, with his once-smooth features concealed beneath impoverished wisps of facial hair, Jenson Button gave a passable impression of Father Time as he reflected on the rise of Lewis Hamilton to Formula One. Seven years ago almost to the day, Button was the Hamilton of the hour, the talk of British motor sport having been handed a drive at Williams on the eve of his 20th birthday. Too much too soon was the sentiment of wizened observers, aghast that a kid barely out of karts might be considered worthy of a place in F1.

   
Pushing on: Jenson Button had to learn a brutal lesson
After Hamilton ripped into a Jerez tyre wall at 165mph yesterday, writing off his new McLaren, wise heads would doubtless have been shaking their disapproval. Hamilton walked away unscathed, blaming the wind.

In the case of Button, after a fresher year of some merit, the critics' point was forcibly made. Button was dropped like a breeze block by Williams to accommodate the luxuriant talent of Juan Pablo Montoya and found himself at a Benetton team in their final throes, his inexperience no match for the incompetence that engulfed him.

Thus began a brutal lesson in the art of survival in elite sport. "I came in thinking it was all going to be sweet and easy. It's not," said Button. "You think that if you have a bad car you'll drive around it and be up there anyway. You can't. If you have never experienced a car that is dreadful to drive, like a shopping trolley, it's a real shock to the system.

"Initially I found it tough to work with that. If you have a suggestion that might help, you feel that the experienced guys are going to shake their heads and say: 'What does the boy know?' It is difficult to get respect at that age. And you do need that."

Entering Formula One on a British passport is both a privilege and a responsibility. The legendary feats of Moss, Hawthorn, Clark, Hill, Stewart, Hunt and Mansell echo around the paddocks, onerous reminders of a tradition rich in brio, courage and flair. The British racing public have not had a world champion to cheer since Damon Hill in 1996, each blank year cranking up the ante for those that follow.

After edging Bruno Junqueira in a head-to-head at Barcelona for the Williams drive, Button walked straight on to the sporting equivalent of a Hollywood set, his name a gift to headline writers eager for the emergence of a Beckham of the track. Seven years on it is Hamilton's turn.

Unlike some of his colleagues, Button welcomes the infusion of new blood. He believes Hamilton is better prepared than he was to negotiate the perils that inevitably await the novice in F1. "Lewis coming in is good for British motor sport," he said. "It's a wonderful time for him. I think he'll be quick. He'll want to come in and be winning races and challenging for the championship in his first year but that will be quite difficult.

"There is a lot to learn in F1. I made mistakes and learnt from them. At least he has spent longer in single-seaters than I did. And he already knows the team. That should help him a lot."

Button is now firmly out the other side, the finished product. Almost. His maiden victory in Hungary last year prompted a run that enabled him to return more points in the season's closing races than any. Count back six grands prix from Brazil to Budapest and Button is a world champion by a point to Fernando Alonso and three to Michael Schumacher.

He returned to a new car in Barcelona yesterday following an enforced three-month absence to allow ribs broken in a karting event to heal.

Learning from last year's errors, neither he nor Honda made any promises, save a pledge to be in the mix, slugging it out with the usual suspects at the top of the grid. Changes in staff and the advent of a new wind tunnel have given Honda the resources to adapt as the season progresses.

They have produced for 2007 the first wholly-owned Honda machinery since 1969, and plan the kind of incremental upgrades that ought to avoid the mid-season slumps that have blighted the recent past. In F1 it is not how well you start the season that matters, it is how effectively you evolve that counts.

Button said: "The end to the season was more impressive than the win. The team did a great job in the races after Hungary. That progression has given us the step forward that we needed.

"We had all made mistakes before. We learnt from them. Hungary was the first time I had seen the team function properly as a race winning team. People came up with ideas as the circumstances changed and the team acted on them.

"That is what you need to win championships. It is what Ferrari had for many years. It is what we have now. We believe we are a team capable of challenging but it's not about wanting it as such, it's about delivering. We need to make things happen, not just will it."


The Stig