Former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes Jenson Button has matured well since 2009 – Formula 1
Former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes that Jenson Button is a far better driver now than he was when he won the 2009 world title racing for Brawn GP.
Coulthard thinks that since Button won the championship he has grown a lot mature and is a much more complete driver than what he used to be. He explained that even in 2009 Button won six of the first seven Grands Prix races but later though Sebastian Vettel
came very close to giving the Brit a run for his money but Button kept his cool and in the end won the title with a difference of 11 points.
Since his move to McLaren, Button has become much more consistent and reliable. Coulthard added now when the chips are down and the situation is tough, Button is the man for the job.
“I think he's a better driver now than when he won his world title with Brawn,” said Coulthard at the Autosport International Show. “When he made his big points gap, and then the rivals started to catch up, he made mistakes. It was like a tennis player missing
an easy smash.”
“Now you look at him and the way he's performed, growing in confidence all the time. It's got to the stage now where when the conditions are at their most difficult, he's the guy they look to. It's pretty impressive being in that position,” he added.
Coulthard though also praised Vettel and said that he is definitely an addition to one of the greats of the sport with his back-to-back world titles. He also added that Vettel’s victories have been different from Schumacher. Schumacher was so dominant that
sometimes he had a lead of more than half laps but Vettel’s has not enjoyed that type of dominance and still came out triumphant which is quite an achievement.
The 2012 season is bound to bring an interesting battle on the grid. Although the Red Bull car had an added advantage with the off-throttle blown diffuser but it has been banned for the 2012 season. This means that it will be a tough challenge for Vettel
to maintain his winning streak. While Button showed good form with the McLaren car as well in the 2011 season and is expected to be a serious contender for the 2012 title.
Tags: