Jenson Button: I will not have it all my own way in Istanbul
Date published : 04 Jun 2009 - 20:27:24
The Brawn driver is showing the ruthless single-mindedness of a natural-born winner; his easygoing manner barely masking a steely determination.
Asked about comments made by Renault's Fernando Alonso to the effect that the title race was turning into a bore-athon to rank with the most one-sided of Michael Schumacher's seven titles, the Englishman's response was emphatic.
"Brilliant," he said. "I want it to be as boring as possible.
They [his critics] shouldn't be looking to us to make the situation better. They should be looking at the other teams. I'm just doing my job."
With five wins in six races, there is no denying Button's ability to do a Schumacher and wrap up the title by August, as the German did in 2004 when he won 12 of the first 13 races.
Lucky for the neutrals then that Ferrari and Red Bull are fast closing the gap.
The circuit here in Istanbul is expected to suit both their machines and Button was noticeably less bullish yesterday regarding his race prospects.
There was less talk of being "aggressive" with his tactics and more reeling off of statistics to show he was not going to have it all his own way.
"Ferrari have their KERS [energy recovery] system, which will be a big help up the hill, while I reckon Red Bull will be able to take Turn Eight flat out which will give them two tenths of a second over us per lap," said Button, referring to the infamous triple-apex, taken at around 200mph, for which this circuit is known.
Of course, Button's machine is no slouch itself and if the last few races are anything to go by he will struggle in practice before nailing a final, flying lap in Q3 before cruising to a sixth win in seven.
And if he does?
"I'm not going to believe it's my world championship," he said. "I will think I've made life easier for myself, for sure, but we're not even halfway through the season yet."
Meanwhile, Max Mosley, the FIA president, has blown the fragile truce negotiated last week between the sport's governing body and the Formula One Teams Association out of the water by suggesting the rebel teams start their own series if they are unhappy with the rules for 2010.
Nine teams have submitted conditional entries but, with the FIA due to announce the official line-up for 2010 a week today, Mosley has made it clear he will not be dictated to.
"We now have a dispute and we will see who succeeds in the end," he said. "I say to them, 'If you want to draw up your own rules, then you can organise your own championship. But we have the Formula One championship.' We draw up the rules for that.
