Does Button have any fans???

[enemy-ace]

Minardi, although they fielded two cars, was for all intents and purposes a ONE car team, so how do we know that their car was all that slow when we have nothing to compare it to. Brunner has also in the past designed some brilliant cars, so having an underpowered engine while not an advantage is hardly the kiss of death. Look at what Prost wasn't able to achieve with a Ferrari engine. So if you don't mind I think I'll refrain from jumping on any Alonso bandwagon until he has a team-mate (in a comparable car)with which we can directly judge his talent by.

[av8rirl]

To badoer fan and Ralf's girl

Firstly, I am a JPM fan. Secondly, I don't really consider JPM to be a rookie in the same light that Alonso is a rookie. No doubt that Alonso appears to be talented, but I still don't see how you can say that he performed better than JPM???

Sure, they're not in equal equipment and we'll never know what JPM could have done with that Minardi. If you follow JPM's career, you'll see that he was super in all classes. I don't know enough about Alonso to say the same (or different). When Alonso gets to drive in a decent car, we can all make the comparison.

Does Button have any friends??? I think we're getting off the original point. Lets start a 2001 Rookie of the Year thread. I think one already exists...

[badoer fan]

Originally posted by av8rirl
Does Button have any friends???

I'l be Jenson's friend

[Mr V]

the way i see it is this.....jpm and jenson were put in williams because their talant deserved to put then in a williams!!!!

alonso's talant (at this stage of his career i might add!!) deserved a minardi seat!!

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally posted by badoer fan
I'l be Jenson's friend

Oh shut up!

Alonso does have a lot of talent for somebody so young - he was easily the youngest driver there in 2001 and he was thrown into what I imagine was a difficult job - trying to be fast in what was not a fast car. And I think he did a damn good job.

[SILVERS95]

MR V .......in some ways i think Alonso had a more impressive junior record than Button........Both were obviosly highly talented but as i remember it , Alonso had his car racing debut in a Formaula Nissan car 1999 , then done 1 year with Astromega in F3000 before graduating to F1 with Minardi........Jenson done a year of Formula Ford Zetec with Haywood racing , and then britsh F3 with Promatecme where he won 3 races .... Jenson was very lucky in the fact that Williams bought out Zanardi's contract which in turn gave Button the chance to make his F1 debut with a top team.....good timing for Jenson.

Saying that , im a massive Button fan and think this year he will prove his doubters wrong and show everyone the speed he had shown in 2000...i just think Alonso has had just a impressive junior career as Buttons , but it doesnt always get mentioned.

[Marshal]

Its interesting, most of the people who are owning up to be Button fans seem to be British. Could that be 'cos we've seen him racing in Junior Formulae and know the boy has talent 2001 will have done him good as I think he'll be taking winter training a bit more seriously this year, and I hope Briatore has less influence now it Renault so he gets a decent crack of the whip this season.

[Stephen Green]

I agree with you there Marshal. Somehow I feel that Briatore is one of the key's to Jenson's poor year. If he really knuckles down and gets on with the job in hand this year, then I think he will surprise a few people. Let's not write the guy off just yet!

[Mr V]

in a way........i think that 2001 was the best thing that could have happened to "our" jenson (as it seems that his only fans are brits) and he will show everybody what he's made of!! i think he may struggle to keep with jarno in qualifying but he will out race him!! jarno's not as good a racer as fisi!! but the boy button is!!

[SILVERS95]

and Jense now knows the team and the people and the way they like to work...all the stuff will be new to jarno

[Liz]

Is Briatore going to be at Benetton this year, and is he not Italian (and so is Trulli of course)?

Has Briatore not said either Jensen proves himself quickly or he's out on his bum?

For the record:

(1) Bruno Junqueria would have had that Williams seat save for a weather accident that caused him to take his test on a wet track while Bunsen had a dry one -- and still Bruno darned near beat him out! Bunsen won because he is a Brit.

(2) Montoya had a car in the last year he raced for Ganassi that made the Minardi look like the AUDI LMP-900 R8R. And look what he accomplished with it.

(3) Jensen has a fan: his father, who announced to the world after Jensen had dumped his long time pregnant girlfriend, that Jensen was "auditioning" for a new girlfriend ... and who told the Press that Montoya was "hopeless" and "stupid", and that FW had made a big mistake in preferring him over Bunsen.

And with friends like that ...

And finally, if I were 20-21 years old and suddenly came into a lot of money by exercising the talent G-d gave me to reach the top of my career, I hope I have been better brought up than to behave like a sailor on shore leave.