Assessing F1 drivers is bound to be a subjective matter to some extent but there are certain things we can be reasonably sure of. Drivers do not change in ability from one year to the next, for instance; they may get better over time as they learn the ropes, but they do not change with the seasons from excellent to hopeless or vice versa. So we can say with some certainty that, if Jenson Button is proving to be the smoothest and calmest driver this season, he has been so for at least several years before.
Leading the field
The reason his talents went unnoticed by most in 2008 and 2007 was, of course, the fact that Honda gave him a complete dog of a car. But that does not entirely explain his sudden transformation into team leader over Rubens Barrichello. This year Jenson has dominated his experienced team mate to the point where Rubens is wondering just what he has to do to beat the Englishman, yet in 2008 the Brazilian fared rather better in the awful Honda RA108.
This forces us to the conclusion that Rubens is able to extract more from a bad car whereas Jenson's talent surfaces when the car is good. That may well be a matter of driving style, Button being unable to be brutal enough with a car that does not want to perform and Barrichello happy to drive it sideways if necessary. A similar situation was seen last year in the BMW team, with Heidfeld unwilling to throw the car around enough to heat its tires quickly whereas Kubica's more ragged style suited much better.
We might be tempted to say that it is the car that is winning the championship, therefore, and that Button is little more than a passenger. This is partially true in that Button would not have won races so consistently without a car that suits his style; but it is wrong to think that anyone could have done the same in the Brawn BGP 001. Barrichello was, on occasion, quicker than Schumacher yet he has not managed to win in the Brawn so far and, unless Button makes a mistake or has a mechanical failure, it does not look as if Rubens will get a single victory this year.
I think we must conclude that Jenson is one of the best when the car suits his style, therefore. Although the Brawn driver pairing has only a few races under its belt so far, Button is actually doing a better job on Barrichello than Schumacher managed, even though Michael had the benefit of being always the favored driver.
Which is not to say that I think Button should be placed amongst the elite of drivers like Senna, Schumacher, Stewart and Nuvolari. The greatness of such drivers lay in the fact that they could win even when supplied with machinery that was far from the best. Of all the present crop of drivers, only Alonso stands out as being in that mold, although Hamilton may stake his claim in the months to come.
But that does not mean that, if you put Alonso in Barrichello's seat, he would beat Button every time. Jenson is so well suited to the car that he might still have the beating of the great Spaniard; certainly, Alonso's style is not so perfect a fit with the characteristics of the BGP 001. It would be an interesting battle, nevertheless.
When it comes to the question of whether Button "deserves" to be champion this year, I think we have to conclude that he does. He is part of the package that has made Brawn GP almost unbeatable to date and that is not something that any F1 driver could have done. Barrichello, too, has had his part to play and his supporters can point to the sharing of settings that has helped Button on more than one occasion. To my mind, however, this just makes him resemble even more a certain driver of the recent past, a man who never became champion but was instead perhaps the greatest number two of all time.
That can only mean Riccardo Patrese, of course, and Rubens does begin to look very much like him. Both did their apprenticeships in lesser teams where the rewards were few and both spent the last years of their careers as experienced and solid drivers who helped their teams to greater success. It may be no coincidence that it was Patrese's record for the most GPs that Rubens took so recently - long service may be the common denominator between all the great number twos.
And there lies the rub; Rubens does not want to be regarded as a number two. One can understand his feelings in view of his many years as Schumacher's back up but he may find it easier to take a leaf from Patrese's notebook. In all his years as a number two, Patrese was uncomplaining and just happy to have a drive - but he was always there to pick up the pieces if the lead man faltered. And so he won the occasional race here and there and smiled whatever fate sent him.
I cannot help but feel that Rubens would do well to adopt Patrese's attitude in his present situation. The complaining and looking for reasons for failure does not help anything and makes him seem a whiner. How much better it would be to quietly get on with the job and then take the opportunities when they appear. That is more likely to earn him another year with Brawn GP, at any rate.