"Tribute to Jenson Button"

by Stuart McIntyre

Image Size: 15 x 21.5 in

Its hard to remember when a drivers debut caused quite so much controversy, but when Frank Williams announced that 20 year old Jenson Button was to line up alongside Ralf Schumacher for the 2000 season, the media went into overdrive. Many pundits, including experienced voices like Jackie Stewart, expected the novice to struggle. However, Jenson proved everyone wrong with a sequence of amazing performances. He became the youngest driver in the history of the sport to score a world championship point when he finished sixth in only his second grand prix at Interlagos and went on to finish eighth in the drivers championship. The highlight of the year was Belgium, where Jenson lined up third on the grid ahead of Michael Schumacher. For 2001 Jenson found himself on loan to Benetton. Having flown so high in his first F1 year Jenson was quickly brought back to earth as he struggled in the under-performing Benetton. Jenson matured greatly in 2002 scoring 14 points and finishing 7th in the drivers championship. As soon as Jenson was available, BAR boss David Richards moved swiftly to sign him for the Honda powered team. Jenson v Jacques was the focus of a great deal of attention at the start of the 2003 season. Helped by reliability, on many occasions Jenson outperformed his more experienced team mate both in qualifying and on race days, ending the season 9th with 17 points. A more mature Jenson Button drives for BAR Honda in 2004 with a string of podium finishes, helping to make it the only team to keep Ferrari on their toes.