Button Up!

Honda gets Brawny for the upcoming season!

2007-11-13T07:44:00.000+08:00

Ross Brawn is joining Honda! Yay! :D

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Maybe I'll get to reviving this blog back up now that it's the offseason again. :)

Anyhow, here's the tidbit that I'd like to share with the rest of the world. Good news for Jenson and the rest of the crew:

"Brawn named as Honda team principal" from the official Formula1.com site. You can also check out tons of content on Ross, as well as his first official interview with Honda, at the official Honda Racing F1 site.

This Blog is Dead...

2007-05-22T10:42:00.000+08:00

This blog is dead... for now. So sorry. I lost a fair amount of interest in blogging, and the will to write about Honda and Jenson given the current state of the team. So sad.

I'm still cheering Jenson on though, and I still check up on news. I just haven't been able to get myself to start posting again.

In the meantime, you can still check out his official site, www.JensonButton.com. It features regular Jenson and race updates, plus tons of discussions and games at the forum.

Oh, and you might want to try out the following free games (don't worry, all you'll need is your browser):

BATracer - A Free Racing Manager Game, one of the best out there, if not the best. Race in everything from F1 to A1, ChampCar, Le Mans, BTCCs, V8s and more! The Jenson forum also has its own private game. I've won the past two seasons, but I'm sitting the current one out. :P

Trophy Manger - My favorite, right up there with BATracer. Trophy Manager is a free, online football (soccer) manager game that gives you control over your very own club and all the responsibilities that come with it. Each country has its own league and its own set of divisions. There are also national teams (my country made it to the semifinal leg of the first ever FITA WC) and international club cups/competitions. It's really fun, and only takes a few minutes of your time to play it. You can even play against some of the people from the forums. Care for a friendly? :)

Jenson gets to testing in Malaysia

2007-03-29T12:22:00.000+08:00

From HondaRacingF1.com:

Jenson Button joined the team in Sepang this afternoon to take over the test programme from Rubens for the remainder of the test. He completed a couple of runs to acclimatise himself with the circuit and conditions before working through a chassis set-up evaluation completing 24 laps.

Jenson will complete the final day of testing tomorrow.

The RA107 still isn't showing signs of speed, and Rubens' engine blew out. Ouch.

Nowhere else to go but up

2007-03-19T11:44:00.000+08:00

Ouch. That was quite painful to watch. At least Rubens found some pace late and finished ahead of the Aguri. That's about it though. The rest of the race was just miserable for the team, especially Jenson. Getting a drive-through penalty for an already slow car just adds insult to injury.

I'll try to post results and all kinds of reports and Jenson stuff soon. Just feeling quite glum at the moment.

At least there's no way it can get any worse right? Let's hope Honda get their car sorted out by next race, so Jenson can start driving the wheels off of it come race day. One fast, fast lap is good enough for me at this point. Something to give hope at least.

Honda struggles to find pace in qualifying

2007-03-18T09:41:00.000+08:00

This was rather bad. One Aguri made it to the top ten, and the other just missed out. The Hondas meanwhile were further back. Makes one wonder if the teams might have accidentaly switched cars during production.

Why on earth are the Aguris running so fast and the Hondas running so slow? We could blame the Bridgestone switch, which the factory Honda team is still getting used to. Or maybe we could blame it on the livery - perhaps the images of Earth simulate the Earth's weight too and slow the car down. Whatever, the Hondas got their butts kicked by the Aguris. And everyone else.

Jenson could only manage 14th, while Rubens didn't even make the first cut, qualifying a lowly 17th.

Here's what Jense had to say, from Formula1.com:

Jenson Button, Honda (14th, 1m 27.264s):
"It hasn't been a good weekend for us so far. Today it was difficult to judge how hard to push the tyres. At the start of the lap I was getting understeer because the tyres were not up to temperature, then later in the lap I was getting oversteer as the rears were going off, which just shows the issues that we have. I got the best out of the car today and right now we are where we are. We'll obviously do what we can for the race, then we have some work to do to start addressing the issues we have identified."

Honda better get this sorted out soon. It's going to be very painful to see the Aguris of all teams finish much higher than them. I mean, the least they could do is finish ahead of those cars. Sigh.

Race starts in just over an hour. Let's hope it won't be so hard to watch.

Button in doubt?

2007-03-17T08:25:00.000+08:00

Button up for a tought fight

Jenson Button admits there is a lot of work to do if Honda are to match their expectations after a disappointing performance in the first official practice sessions of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The Somerset man finished the morning session in fifth place but could manage only 14th in afternoon practice as he struggled with the car's stability.

Button has already written off his team's chances of a podium finish here and has expressed doubts about whether they will even be able to secure a top-10 finish during qualifying.

And the 27-year-old believes it is crucial they are able to get to the bottom of the problems that undermine the Honda car.

Has Jenson really written off his chances of a podium finish? I'd like to see him prove himself wrong.

More on the article by Gary Rose at www.sportinglife.com

Could the Hondas really have been running heavy?

2007-03-17T08:03:00.000+08:00

From Honda's official press release:

Jacky Eeckelaert, Engineering Director
"Our plan for today was to run through our usual race preparation programme with set-up work during the morning session, then focusing on long runs in the afternoon. In view of the damp conditions, we adapted the programme slightly. Rubens' afternoon was brought to an early conclusion as he spun entering the last corner causing some damage to the car. Unfortunately we were unable to repair it in time to take part in the rest of the session. Jenson completed his planned programme giving us some valuable data to study this evening as we work to improve the balance of the car before qualifying tomorrow."

Okay... so Honda were doing set-up work in the afternoon when they were reasonably quick, and long runs in the afternoon. Hmm... so they were running heavy?

"The cars will now have fresh engines installed overnight, ahead of tomorrow’s opening qualifying session of the year."

Or maybe they were running on slower engines. :D

Super Aguris outpace Honda

2007-03-16T16:34:00.001+08:00

So much for being "Honda B". At the second round of free practice on Friday both Ant Davidson and Taku Sato set faster times in their Aguris than their factory Honda counterparts.

Little surprise that both Ferraris topped the afternoon timesheets. But for Honda to be way down in the timesheets AND outpaced by the Super Aguris, customer car or not... well, that might be cause for some concern.

What exactly is wrong with the Honda? There's been a lot of discussion regarding their dismal form over winter testing, specially after projecting themselves among the top runners in this years' field. Are they struggling? Why can't they seem to find any pace?

Your guess is as good as mine. I'd say Honda could be playing coy and are simply playing things down (way down). They could just be focusing on maintaing race pace and reliability after already having privately tested flat out pace. Or they could really be struggling, which is really going to be very disappointing for us fans.

On its own, Honda's engine should perhaps be among the best in the field. But if they really are stuggling then it's very likely that the team is having difficulty setting up and getting the car to drive like it should with those Bridgestones on. I just hope they get things sorted out. Sooner than later too. In the meantime, we'll just have to hope and wait for race day itself.

Anyhow, here's what Jenson had to say about their dismal afternoon run, from Formula1.com:

“It’s quite realistic in a way,” 14th-fastest Jenson Button admitted glumly. “We didn’t have the best winter, we were improving the car all the time but it’s still not where want to be. We are really struggling under braking as many drivers behind us found, we have a stability issue, but that’s not all of it, just a part of it. It’s going to be a tough weekend!”

Somebody please tell me that they're just planning on taking everyone by surprise?

Wet Friday morning kicks off season!

2007-03-16T10:30:00.000+08:00

Wet weather racing is always so much more fun to watch and read about. :D

In an excellent start to this year's Formula One season, a damp but drying track provided some exciting moments at the Melbourne track, with times steadily dropping as practice wore on and all the teams seemingly getting in the mix. Conditions like these make it difficult to assess exactly how far along these cars are - i.e. Taku going 11th fastest while Kimi holds out for 19th - so there's still a big air of suspense, at least on my part, for the later practices and the race itself. I'm still dying to see how these cars stack up against one another on bone dry conditions.

Two things I'm sure of at this point though, Fernando Alonso will always be quick, and Jenson Button is an amazing wet weather driver. Both guys were mixing it up rather well eh? Too bad Kimi sat out the latter stages of practice. Oh well. Great start still. Here's a good progressive commentary/recap from Formula One's official website:

A slippery start in Melbourne

Go Jenson GO GO GO! :) :)

One more day!

2007-03-15T09:46:00.000+08:00

Just a little over 24 hours to go until the first Friday practice session of the year! YAY! That means I get back to posting to keep everyone else posted too!

Here's a little Jenson quote from Formula.com:

Jenson Button, Honda
2006 Qualifying - 1st, 2006 Race - 10th
"Obviously Melbourne is a very special place for me as the circuit where I made my F1 debut. But it's more than just the race track in Albert Park. I love the very special atmosphere of the city, both in its own right and from the sheer buzz involved in being at the first race of the season. The setting of the circuit is also one of the best on the calendar.

“It is very important to get your corner apexes right here. On some circuits braking is the most important thing, but here there are so many chicanes and ess-bends that you have to be very precise and consistent. Everything that you have been working on over the winter needs to come together for the first race of the season, so its about choosing the right race strategy, making sure that the pit crew get everything right and good mechanical reliability.”

All you Jenson fans out there - do cheer Jenson on for what could be a spectacular season of racing and great runs! And remember, Jenson was able to qualify for pole here last year! GO JENSON GO GO GO! :P

What are the people at Honda thinking?

2007-02-27T10:45:00.000+08:00

So you've seen the car and heard about Honda raising awareness for environmental change. But how exactly do they plan on going about it all?

In SportNetwork.net's How are Honda going to make a difference?, Phil Huff reports on the car manufacturer's plan of action.

Honda launch radical, sponsor-free livery

2007-02-26T18:38:00.000+08:00

Race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello were both on hand as Honda unveiled a radical new livery set to feature none other than an image of Earth itself. While sponsor-free to the naked eye, people can actually pledge to have their name as part of the pixels used to build that very image of Earth on the car, all for a good cause.

Here's a sample image of the car, courtesy of HondaF1.com:

And here's an exerpt from HondaF1's official press release:

Honda Racing F1 Team launches pioneering environmental concept

The Honda Racing F1 Team today announced a major new initiative for the 2007 Formula 1 season. To help raise awareness of the environmental issues facing the planet, the RA107 F1 car will simply feature a huge image of earth, in place of the advertising and sponsor logos which have featured and dominated all other F1 cars for decades.

The car’s new look is a powerful call to action for fans, sponsors, customers and members of the public to join Honda’s commitment to help address the environmental issues facing the world.

Via the websitewww.myearthdream.com, anyone who wishes, will have the opportunity to have their name on the car, make a pledge to make a lifestyle change to improve the environment and make a donation to an environmental charity. Under the concept of “our car is your car”, each name will form a tiny individual pixel which will help build the image of planet earth on the car. Each name will be visible on the website when you make the pledge or under a microscope on the car.

More news and images at Honda's official website, of course.

You can also check out major f1 news sites, like this one from f1.gpudate.net.

It'll be interesting to see these Google Earth... I'm sorry, Honda Earth cars line up alongside the more conventionally-liveried cars come Melbourne. ;)

Livery launch date set

2007-02-15T12:36:00.000+08:00

From F1Technical:

The Honda Racing F1 Team will present the RA107's new livery on 26 February. In January, the team already launched the challenger, but the livery still hasn't been released. According to Nick Fry, the new livery will be something that has never been seen in F1. Rumours have been spread for months now that BP will be the new main sponsor of the team, which would result in a green livery.

Can't wait to see it. One more month til the season kicks off, too. Hurrah!

Latest testing report - Barcelona

2007-02-15T12:29:00.000+08:00

Another week of testing wraps up. Here's Honda's official press release:

Honda concludes three day Barcelona test

And here's the ever-growing worry over Honda's seemingly dismal pace:

What's wrong with the performance of the RA107?
Honda's pace cause for concern?

Jenson Button on Formula1.com!

2007-02-09T18:27:00.000+08:00

"The Lesser know... Jenson Button", from Formula1.com

We get up close and personal with Honda’s resident football fan and porridge lover, the one and only Jenson Button…

Q: What's in your garage at home?
JB: I have a Honda S2000 in Monaco.

Q: Tell us something we don't know about you?
JB: I am a big Arsenal fan. I also love porridge and a good roast dinner.

Q: Your favourite song for karaoke?
JB: ‘The One and Only’ by Chesney Hawkes.

Q: The last good deed you did?
JB: I am a patron of the Make A Wish Foundation which is really important to me and we have just invited two children from the Foundation to come and visit me at the Honda Racing F1 Team factory on Brackley in a couple of weeks.

Q: If you were a superhero, what would your special powers be?
JB: I travel so much that I guess the special power I would like to have is to be able to fly - then I wouldn’t have to wait in all the queues at airports…

Q: Your most prized possession?
JB: As far as racing goes my most prized possessions are my racing helmets. Other than that I don’t really have any prized possessions. My family and friends are what is most important to me.

Q: The person you most admire?
JB: I admire Bono from the band U2 and also Lance Armstrong for his dedication to his sport.

Q: Do you have any bad habits?
JB: I have a short attention span.

Q: What would you be if you weren’t a racing driver?
JB: I am a racing driver, so I don’t know what I would be if I wasn’t - I’ll find out after F1…

Q: Funniest thing you've read about yourself in the press?
JB: That my girlfriend is going to be a grid girl. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Q: Who would you want to play you in a movie?
JB: Owen Wilson. He’s awesome!

Owen Wilson? :P

Talk, talk, talk. Pft.

2007-02-08T12:33:00.000+08:00

As teams continue to run their cars through testing sessions, the rest of us can only watch and speculate as the season draws closer to its starting date. And so it's this driver this, this driver that or the car might be this, etc. To be quite honest, all of it's gotten rather old and tedious for me to listen to and read, and I would much rather watch the first race of the season before making any real assessment of where everyone stands.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really hoping that Honda does well this season, and I can't wait to see what livery they'll be running with. And I'm particularly pleased that Jenson's karting shunt doesn't seem to have affected his fitness level at all, as he's consistently been putting in a ton of laps as he begins to grow more and more comfortable in the RA107. But all this talk is just driving me nuts. I mean, if I was at Honda, I'd just keep mum and focus on devolopment and get the best car out there by Melbourne.

Let's just get this out of the way then. Here's the latest buzz to come out on Jenson, Mike Gascoyne Button-bashing:

'Button lacks spark needed to win title'

Honda's Jenson Button lacks the "spark" that marks out potential World Champions, according to Spyker technical boss Mike Gascoyne.

Button has won just one race in seven seasons of Formula One - last year's rain-hit Hungarian GP - but has often been likened in ability to double World Champion Fernando Alonso and Ferrari new boy and multiple race-winner Kimi Raikkonen.

But that is not a view subscribed to by Gascoyne, who worked with Button at what is now Renault in 2001 and 2002, before Alonso took the Briton's seat for the 2003 campaign.

Can't win over everyone, I suppose. And Honda haven't exactly been blowing away the competition at the timesheets lately. But considering Jenson's been putting in a ton of laps getting comfy with the car and giving priority to the car's balance instead of just gunning for outright pace, and the second driver (be it Klien or Andretti) has been running the old chassis, I'd say there isn't any real reason to panic. I'll just be looking for Jenson and Honda's performance at the start of the season to do all the real talking (and I am hoping for it to be on the positive side).

So, for the next 36ish days, my posts might be few and far between. I will try to keep tabs on very important updates and events, but I can't promise much at the moment. Rest assured, once the season gets underway, I will get back to posting regularly. Whatever the talk that comes out. Do check back then. :)

So much has happened in just a week...

2007-01-27T09:56:00.000+08:00

Gosh, so much to report on. Let's see... where do I start?

Jenson's back in form, which is the best news of all. His ribs are healed up, and he looks to be in top shape.

"Although I have been out of the car for a while, I am very pleased with my return to the cockpit and also my fitness level, which I have been working hard on since
Christmas."

That's from Jenson talking about his immediate future with Honda, as he hopes to move closer to his first ever F1 Title. He also talked about his plans further up ahead (like at age 34) in "the Times", a copy of which is in the official forums I think.

Jenson really does look set to present a serious challenge for this year's championship, and others are taking notice as well. Here's DC proclaiming, Jenson Button's gonna conquer F1". From a fan's perspective, that's a pretty good headline if I ever saw one. Hehe. And I am praying and hoping that it holds true.

He's a man on a mission this year. And I hope the entire Honda team does get behind him and challenges for the top spot. Honda seems ready enough, and they've recently launched their new car (sans the new livery, which happens next month) at Barcelona. Jenson was able to drive both the RA106 and the new RA107 for some direct comparison, and he looks to have come away feeling good about the new car. It did stall on his first lap out, but once Jenson got going he was able to put in a well-driven 86 laps.

That about does my week ending report for now. For all that you've missed, you can catch up by checking out Honda's offical site at HondaRacingF1.com, or at Jenson's official site at JensonButton.com. To make things easy, you can also Google News for the latest on Jenson (I've set the link to already filter things out).

Honda RA107 shakedown!

2007-01-20T11:34:00.000+08:00

Honda's launch is less than a week away (Thursday, January 25)! Wohoo!

Even better, their shakedown is set for this Monday at Silverstone.

Honda will shake down their new Formula One car at Silverstone next week before shipping it to Barcelona for the team launch.

The team's senior technical director Shuhei Nakamoto told autosport.com that the new car will have a shakedown at Silverstone on the morning of Monday, January 22, just to ensure there are no niggling problems before its first serious test at Barcelona.

After the shakedown the car will be transported immediately to Spain.

Reporters'll very likely be there to report on how the car goes... and looks, even if the livery hasn't been set yet. You can check out the thread at the official forum here.

Happy Birthday Jenson Button!!

2007-01-19T11:05:00.000+08:00

Happy Happy Birthday Jenson!!

May your 27th year bring you all the very best!

For those who haven't yet, you can send him your greetings/birthday wishes at the Happy Birthday Jenson forum thread.:)

Jenson's latest video message

2007-01-18T10:55:00.000+08:00

NOTE: Whoops.. sorry, forgot to publish this one. :P

Jenson's got a new video message! You can watch it over at his official site, www.jensonbutton.com.

I'll post a vidcap as soon as I can. :)

What if F1 had similar cars for all the teams? :P

2007-01-17T14:28:00.000+08:00

Just browsing through news articles from last year. Here's an exerpt that got me thinking, from when Jenson said he could do better than Schumi:

"I'd be devastated if I didn't win the championship because it's what I've always wanted to achieve," he added. "I work so hard - harder than people realise. If I didn't win the world championship in the future I won't be able to live with myself, probably. But Honda won't leave F1 until they win the championship.

"I'm not satisfied because I'm disappointed to have spent so long not winning races. I've been asked the question so many times about not winning in 100 races. But nobody would have won a race in the cars that I had in those 100 races. I'm 100 per cent sure of that."

Don't you just wish there was a way to test how these drivers would perform given similar machinery, ala A1? I know part of what makes F1 great is too see just how far these manufactures can take and develop their cars, given all the rules and technology at hand. But it's about the drivers too. Wouldn't it to have been nice to see just how fast Alonso already was in his Minardi days compared to the rest of the field? Or even Jenson in his Benetton days, for that matter.

Maybe F1 could do a sprint race, where they all race similar machinery, like in A1. Hahaha. So you'd have a race of drivers. And then you could follow that up with the drivers stepping in their team cars for the feature race. :P Or even just a one-off race at the end of the year where they race cars made somewhat according to the winning manufacturer's specs, or at the start of the year even, using a car patterned after the previous season's winner. :P

Just wishful thinking. :)

New cars, new looks, same contenders

2007-01-16T13:38:00.000+08:00

From the official (see the likes of McLaren's MP4-22), to the not so official (see Renault's R27 racer), new cars are rolling out for 2007, giving us sneak peeks into what the cars will look like once they take to the circuits for a brand new season of Formula One racing.

It's all very exciting to see what shapes and liveries the new cars take on, and even seeing the drivers in their all new looks and do's as well. Fernie with his new haircut and Vodafone suit, Kimi in red (which I personally find not to be his color at all). Unfortunately for us Honda and Jenson fans, we have and will continue to be waiting a tad longer to see what the new car will look and drive like (RA107 launch is late January, with the livery to follow at a yet to be announced date the following month). And because of Jenson's injury, we have also yet to see Jenson suit up and drive during winter testing.

No matter though, a lot if it should still stay the same for Honda and its drivers. It's arguably got the most continuity and stability going for it among the top teams (Gil de Ferran has gone on record saying that it is a positive, as has Nick, although we best not get our hopes up too much). Fernando Alonso echoed these sentiments recently, when sharing how he "fully expects" Jenson to be one of his main rivals for this year's championship (*knock on wood*).

So has anything really changed? In terms of who's favored, probably not. Jenson, Kimi and Fernie are still up there; Massa and Fischi are bound to be mixing it up as well. It's all speculation at this point anyway. But, as a fan, I do hope 2007 will be more exciting, and have more surprises in store for us. And hopefully for Jense fans, it'll be of the good kind - plenty of exciting racing capped by both expected and unexpected wins galore.

Anyone got a fast forward Button? :P

Hill drops a word on Button, too

2007-01-12T12:47:00.000+08:00

Here's former world champion Damon Hill dropping a word on Jenson, as he talks about Britain's current crop of hopefuls for the 2007 season:

Hill said Button, who took his first grand prix win in Hungary last August, was a much stronger driver than the appearances suggested.

"This year has to be the best chance we've had since I won the championship for there to be another British world champion," he said.

"I have great faith in Jenson. I think he has a whole team around him so you can compare his position quite well to that of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari...He's got a very good chance of winning on a regular basis."

I can't wait for the season to start. These outlooks and predictions are wearing thin. I wish the actual racing would get on soon. And I do hope Jenson's completely healed up from his injury by now. Can't wait to see him back behind the wheel.

Back to blogging for the new year!

2007-01-11T13:53:00.000+08:00

Internet's back! Wohoo! Well, sort of at least. So sorry that I've been unable to update for the past two weeks. I feel like I've missed out on so much already.

So to start off the new year, I'll just be posting some links to some stories that came out the past weeks that might be of interest:

Kimi mentions Jenson as a possible contender, behind Fernando and Felipe.

Honda to unveil RA107 on January 25. Sorry though, it's going to be coming out in its testing colors (likely black). The livery launch will be held at a later date, sometime in February.

Jenson on how winning has... or hasn't changed him.

Button urging Honda to make relaxed predictions. Less time with the press, more time with the car? :P

Blundell on the Brits. With an excerpt (sorry, just couldn't resist with this one :P):

ITV-F1.com: Jenson certainly finished the year with some classy performances following his first win; do you expect that level to continue into the coming season?

Mark: It has to continue.

The raising of his game highlights the increased confidence following his win.

Whenever you get a result like that your confidence level does grow.

And now in the eyes of everybody he is exactly what it says in the history books – a grand prix winner.

He goes into next year with that mindset and that’s the level he has to work from to go and achieve something greater.

There are no ifs and buts any more; he has now achieved what everybody has been waiting for over the past few years.

Britain’s next best hopes are now waiting in the wings, so the current hope needs to deliver the results.

and last but not the least, Honda convinced of competitive engine.

Internet's been down in Asia

2006-12-30T09:46:00.000+08:00

Sorry if I haven't been able to post these past few days. Internet access has been really really bad here in Asia (I live in the Philippines), and websites have been taking forever to load, if they even do at all. Things are starting to look up though, and hopefully we'll have full internet access restored in a few days.

Here's an excerpt from Yahoo! Asia:

Asia Internet slowly comes back online

HONG KONG (AFP) - Millions of frustrated Internet users across Asia slowly regained access to overseas websites on Friday, three days after an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan snapped several vital undersea cables.

Telecoms operators across the region re-routed Internet links to circumvent the ruptured lines off the southern part of the island, as engineers donned diving suits to assess the damage and begin repairs.

But customers in the Philippines have been asked to play their part too -- by limiting overseas calls to family and friends over the New Year.

Martin Brundle's Driver Review

2006-12-27T10:39:00.000+08:00

Martin Brundle's driver review continues with Kimi and Jenson. Here's an excerpt:

This was the year when Britain finally made it back to the top step of the podium with Jenson Button's brilliant win in Hungary.

But did the Honda ace really break through into the top flight in 2006, or is there still more to come?

In the latest part of ITV Sport commentator Martin Brundle's driver review, he gives you his thoughts on 'Our Jens'.

ITV-F1.com: Though Jenson won a grand prix, it was in extraordinary circumstances, so is there still a lot to prove?

Martin: There is, I mean as Jenson said recently, he scored more points in the last eight races than anybody else, and though there is an element of kidology there, it also says that the Honda team is on an upward curve.

And he definitely drove well and looked back in his old form in the second half of the season.

The team lost designer Geoff Willis early on and they lost some momentum.

They won the 'winter grand prix' in testing and then were off the pace at Melbourne. And then they just seemed to lose their way.

It came back again but even so you weren't always convinced that Jenson had the chance to win a race.

It was interesting to watch the TV figures after Jenson won, because the public didn't think he was going to keep on winning either.

To get the British public on board as Nigel [Mansell] and Damon [Hill] did, you've got to keep winning or at least look like you're going to win.

And Honda and Jenson didn't do that. In fact they played it down a little bit didn't they? They warned people that it wasn't going to happen every weekend.

You can read the rest at ITV.com here. The review starts with Kimi, and progresses on to Jenson (bottom half contains Martin's thoughts on Jenson). Happy reading!

Christmas Wishes from Jenson

2006-12-26T10:01:00.000+08:00

Sorry, got around to it just now. :P

Here's Jenson's message for his fans this holiday season. You'll have to be a member to access the videos, but membership is free and easy. :)

And here's his bit from F1.com's Formula One drivers' Christmas list:

Jenson Button, Honda:
"I've got everything I want. I have my whole family joining me for Christmas and spending time with family and friends is all I need. You can't ask Santa for a podium or a win. You've got to do that yourself."

Hope you all had a good Christmas! :)

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T22:22:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas to all! :)

Jenson the Jolly Green Giant

2006-12-23T10:59:00.000+08:00

Lol. Some nice and funny news on Honda saving the planet, from ITV.com. May we indeed perhaps see a touch of green in honda's new livery? :P

According to the latest issue of Marketing Week magazine, the Honda F1 squad are all set to embrace the current trend for everything green, with a raft of environmentally friendly ideas.

The story (accompanied by a nice picture of a 2002 Jordan) tells how the team are keen on the use of solar power and renewable energy, and that the team may adopt an all-green livery.

However the ideas have not found favour in all quarters.

Fashion expert Lucy Bing said: “Saving the planet and a few polar bears is all well and good, but Honda fail to realise that green is like sooo last season’s colour.

“With his height and fluffy beard, Jenson Button could end up looking like the Jolly Green Giant while poor little Rubens may adopt the appearance of a leprechaun.”

A source close to the team dismissed Miss Bing’s comments, insisting that being environmentally aware far outweighed any fashion issues.

Year-end Recaps

2006-12-22T10:10:00.000+08:00

First off from Formula One's official site, a 2006 race by race recap, part 5 featuring the the Hungarian, Turkish and Italian Grands Prix. I'd never noticed Nick Fry's expression before (he's the one behind Jenson in the pictures). Both of them look kinda funny... hahaha. That must've been such a fun feeling having all that elation surging through your body though... hence the funny faces... hahaha. :)

Here's a short excerpt:

As the title rivals struggled, the Hungaroring meeting belonged to Honda’s Jenson Button, who came from 14th on the grid to score his maiden Formula One win. The changeable weather played a huge part in the race, but Button’s victory was totally deserved, the Briton keeping his cool in tricky conditions to finally triumph on his 113th attempt.

Also, from ITV.com, an in-depth discussion of Honda's first full season at the helm, featuring all the ups and downs of 2006. The article's title, Finishing with a Flourish" sums it up quite well though. ;)

Here's an excerpt:

The highlight, of course, was Jenson Button’s long-overdue maiden grand prix victory in Hungary, Honda’s first as a constructor since the 1960s.

Although that watershed signalled that the team had shrugged off its mid-season blues, it was above all a supreme personal achievement from Button.

In tricky wet-but-drying weather conditions that turned the race into a lottery, Jenson’s delicacy of touch came to the fore and he thoroughly earned his place on the top step of the podium.

At a stroke, the 26-year-old from Frome silenced those increasingly prevalent voices that doubted he would ever shake off his ‘nearly man’ status.

Lastly, here's a feature, again by ITV.com, of their picks for pictures of the year. Jenson Button's in there of course. :P

Rubens says Jenson needs to complain more

2006-12-21T12:20:00.000+08:00

Seriously, Rubens wants Jenson to complain a bit more. Hahaha.

Taken in the right context though, he was talking about complacency that may have settled in with Jenson about the way things work around Honda. Rubens was simply encouraging Jenson to be a bit more assertive in asking for changes for him to be able to craft a better, race-winning car. I think Jenson has already started to do so, really making the team his and getting them behind him and getting that race pace back, specially after that win. It never hurts for your number two to give a bit more of a push. Rubens wants Honda to improve just as much, and I bet everyone at Honda will be on the same page too. :)

Anyhow, here's an excerpt from the article of Barrichello talking about Honda still having more work to do, from Autosport.com:

Jenson Button and Honda Racing still have work to do if they are to make the steps forward needed to fight for regular race wins, claims Rubens Barrichello.

Although Button finished off the season as the highest points-scorer from the Hungarian Grand Prix onward, Barrichello is under no illusions about the progress that it still needed ahead of 2007.

"I think that this team has a huge amount of potential, but still has some work to do if we are to become consistent winners," said Barrichello, who joined the team at the start of this year.

Happy reading!

Does Jenson play Batracer?

2006-12-21T07:39:00.000+08:00

Any chance Jenson, or any Formula One driver for that matter, plays Batracer? Maybe he's been playing over the offseason?:P Batracer's a fun strategy game to play, although it can also get very frustrating at times. The real thing must be a million more times of both (fun and frustration :P).

By the way, for those interested, one of the forumers has started up a new private game. This one's based on the 1986 carset, and you're all welcome to join. :)

Here's the link:
http://batracer.com/-cj?&D&9568. :) Password is "Andretti". Hope to see you all there! :)

Driving Styles Explained

2006-12-20T07:34:00.001+08:00

Ever wonder what exactly people are talking about when they call Jenson Button's driving style smooth, or Fernando Alonso's style aggressive? Want an insider look at how the top drivers handle their cars today?

Here's a great video of Martin Brundle explaining driving styles by taking a look (and testing for himself, giving you an even closer perspective) at the different ways Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher/Kimi Raikkonen drive their cars around the track.

16-1

2006-12-19T03:05:00.000+08:00

16-1. Those are the odds on Jenson Button winning next year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award next year. Imagine that. The last one's just wrapped up and someone's already got odds on Jenson for next year. Haha. Lewis Hamilton's right up there as well, with 25-1 odds on his potential to win. I say we all keep our fingers crossed and hope that Jenson does well enough, and the awards will come along with a fine season.

As for this year's edition, I'll have one last go at it. It's always nice to see other people rooting for Jenson, so Shaun gets a "good on ya" from Button fans like me for sharing some positive words on Jense regarding his BBC nomination. Nice of him to acknowledge that Jense had a year good enough to have warranted consideration. :)

I suppose the season is still too far ahead to be writing about much else at this point. Maybe I should take a break for the holidays too. Hahaha. Been terribly busy these days, and I haven't even gotten myself into the holiday season just yet. Looking forward to the peace and quiet comfort that comes with it though. :)

Hope you're all having good days leading up to Christmas thus far. News might be slow coming over the next few days, but I'll try to dig up as much stuff as I can to share this holiday season. Happy Holidays everyone!

Young Jenson Button karting at Clay Pigeon

2006-12-17T15:24:00.001+08:00

Testing's just wrapped up, and teams are now looking forward to 2007. Here's a look the other way though, and a look back at where it all started for Jenson. :)

Defending Jenson Button

2006-12-14T13:40:00.000+08:00

Jenson's been coming under a lot of heavy criticism lately for his nomination in BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards. I say lay off the guy. It's not his fault he got nominated. It's a recognition of excellence, and that he has been.

People keep referring to the fact that he's only got one win, blah blah blah. That's one win more than he started the season isn't it? Look at the way he won it, and look at the way he's been driving since! Absolutely driven and competitive. He scored more points than anyone, even both Schumi and Fernando, during that time period. He's at the pinnacle of motorsports, and he's been driving well. Really well. That deserves some recognition, doesn't it? And the simple fact is that there were at least some people out there that saw that. That's why he got into the final nomination list.

I can't wait for 2007 season to start. I really, really hope Jenson does well. He's poised for big things, and as much as I wouldn't want to put any more pressure on Jenson (as if I could actually do that), I'm really hoping he gets to silence even more critics this year. He's one of the best drivers in the world right now. I hope he really gets to showcase those talents in the RA107.

Jenson gets some love from Big Fry

2006-12-13T22:36:00.000+08:00

Some nice words from his boss, quoted from BBC Sport:

Button in F1 elite, says boss Fry

Honda boss Nick Fry believes Jenson Button has now joined the ranks of Formula One's top drivers.

The Briton won his first Grand Prix in Hungary last August, and Fry is expecting more success next season.

"I believe that Jenson is up there with both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in the top three," he said.

"There are others that will do well from time to time, but in terms of consistently high performance, he's in the top three."

It's nice to see Nick boosting Jense's confidence even more.

Jenson, you're definitely tops to us fans. Make us proud! :)

Honda to keep new livery a secret... for now

2006-12-13T17:10:00.000+08:00

This should get very interesting...

Honda’s Formula One CEO Nick Fry has hinted at an exciting new livery for the team’s 2007 car, as part of an innovative marketing strategy designed to fill the void left by departing title sponsors British American Tobacco.

“We have a marketing plan, which will surprise a lot of people and get them interested by our approach for next year,” Fry told Formula1.com. “. You will not see a car covered in Honda logos, it will be something very different.”

Honda’s 2007 car, expected to be called the RA107, is scheduled to make its track debut late next month. However, its livery is unlikely to be revealed until shortly before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 18.

I wonder what the new car's livery will look like? There have been some really... uhm... creative ideas at the official forum's livery thread. :) Feel free to participate in discussions there too!

The way I see it, Honda's got a chance to put on a fresh splash of colors to go along with their impending championship run. Something stlyish to highlight all those sleek contours in the car I hope. Ooh... maybe they can carry special fan-voted liveries! Haha. Just a thought. Anyway, whatever they end up deciding on, I just want them to do all of it right and proper. :)

In the meantime, we can expect to see more of those striking black cars to run until the livery launch mentioned above. You can read more of it at the link to F1.com's official site above, or at Crash.net They're also carrying an interview with team CEO Nick Fry, in which he mentions the livery plans as well. :)

Jenson misses out on fourth award, set to miss ROC and Jerez tests as well

2006-12-12T09:29:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry that I hadn't been able to post the past two days. Got sick and had to take some time out to rest. Anyhow, on to some Jenson news. :)

Jenson Button was in the running for a fourth award of the offseason, making it into the final ten nominees of this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. The award, however, went to Zara Phillips, with Jenson earlier being tagged as "fourth favorite" to win the award. You can read more about the official list of winners here, and more on the award from Wikipedia here.

Meanwhile, there's now apparently been confirmation that Jenson will indeed miss this week's final tests at Jerez, as well as the Race of Champions, which takes place in just 4 days' time. I'm awaiting official word from either Honda or ROC's site, but I suppose that's as good as certain already. Maybe next year then. For now, I hope Jenson spends his holidays wisely and heals those ribs up properly. Can't wait to see Jenson in the new RA107 when it comes out. :)

Honda tops timesheets at Jerez testing

2006-12-09T08:41:00.000+08:00

Good sign for Honda, as they've topped the timesheets 1-2 at Jerez on Friday. Despite a rain-soaked morning, the track dried up well enough in the afternoon, and the Hondas were able to take advantage with some quick runs. Rubens Barichello set the fastest lap of the day with a time 1:20.008, with tester James Rossiter a close second with a time of 1:20.171. Rossiter was also able to complete 108 laps, good for second most on the day.

Not sure if Jenson was on hand for the day, but it must be encouraging to see your team at the top of the timesheets, even if it is just testing.

Go Honda!

Jenson Button site searching

2006-12-08T11:21:00.000+08:00

I thought I'd use Yahoo!'s search engine (I'm a Googler, and I even carry a search bar on this blog right here) for a change and check out what they've got listed on Jenson Button.

Interestingly enough, there were two websites carrying Jenson's name that had no content whatsoever, www.jensonbutton.co.uk and www.jenson-button.co.uk (sorry, I won't link to sites with no content). I wonder who the domains are registered to? Maybe Jenson's people bought it just to make sure it stays with them. Ooh, or maybe Honda F1's web team is getting to work on a new Jenson homepage for us fans, after all the input and feedback that they've received from their recent survey (see race suit contest).

In any case, seeing those blank sites reminded me that Jenson's current official site is in need of some updates/makeovers. Even the forums could use some updates from the main admins. I mean, Honda F1's website is being kept current. I know it's the offseason and all, but even without any news, they've at least added a simple holiday "season's greetings" theme to it. Little things like that let the people that drop by know that the site's being maintained and looked after. And that keeps people coming back. Anyway, I'm sure Jenson's site will be much busier once the season gets underway. It'd just be nice to see updates and/or changes, especially in the offseason when there isn't much else to sustain interest in the site. Oh well.

Speaking of updates and back to the topic at hand, there seem to be a whole bunch of Jenson sites out there, but none that are really updated much. :( I featured some a few weeks back, and I'll feature one again, just for all of you that want to see Jenson over time. :)

This one, fly.to/jenson-button,, I'm thinking is from his Williams days. Great pictures from a few years back, if only for the rarity of seeing pictures such as those nowadays. :P

I'd really like to be able to feature more current sites though, so if you've got a Jenson site that you'd like even more fellow fans to drop by at, you're welcome to leave a comment and a link to your site here. I'd be more than happy to help spread the word even further. :)

Happy web-browsing everyone!

Oh Jenson's ribs!

2006-12-07T08:10:00.000+08:00

Here's how the news on Jenson seems to have gone these past few days: Ribs, Award, Ribs, Award, Ribs, Award, Ribs.

Funniest take I've seen on it so far was by Kay_zee at the forums right here.

Newsflash!

Jenson has further strained his ribs this week, even though he's been told to play it safe for a few weeks.

It's believed the strain was caused by carrying all his awards home.

Hahaha. Not that Jenson's ribs are a laughing matter at all, it's just funny given the media coverage he's been getting for the combination of both.

I do hope he just heals up in peace. I want to see a healthy Button for 2007. And I don't think he's at much of a disadvantage at all. Despite getting the holidays off like Fernando and Kimi both have, Jenson has the advantage of already knowing who's who in his team. And he's able to attending testing sessions to monitor progress and obtain feedback from Rossiter and Klein. If anything, the rest should do Jenson some good and keep him fresh for his run at the title. :)

There's been talk of how Jenson's time out might negatively affect Honda's chances. Jenson's a pretty resilient driver though, and he's one of the best at adjusting at changing conditions (I read that somewhere, but I've forgotten where), so he should bounce back just fine.

He'll do well in 2007. And we'll all be happily cheering him on. Less ribs, more awards next year aye? :)

Jenson gets more rest

2006-12-06T09:32:00.000+08:00

Jenson will be sitting out this week's tests at Jerez, and possibly next week's as well.

A team spokeswoman said: "The doctors took the view today that they would rather let it heal. We will think again later this week about the final test."

Senior Honda sources suggest that they would actually be happier for Button to sit out the final Jerez test next week, so that he is fully fit for the first running of Honda's 2007 challenger in the next year.

"It is better for him to rest and recover fully in time for the new car," said one source.

I think it'd better for him to rest it out, too. I wonder how this'll affect his ROC entry though. Surely it'd be better for him to sit that one out too. Maybe he can have more time to push for that book of his to get finished up and published. :)

Anyhow, that means that three of the top contenders for next year's championship, Jenson, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, will all be getting extra rest this holiday season. Think it'll do the three of them good? Well, I hope it does for Jenson. :)

Jenson's keeping it real for 2007

2006-12-06T09:22:00.000+08:00

Looks like Jense is keeping it real this time around. Here's an exerpt from Autosport.com:

Jenson Button is trying hard to keep a lid on expectations for 2007, after Honda Racing failed to live up to the high target they had set themselves for this season.

Button and Honda had gone into 2006 predicting that they would be challenging for wins at every event.

Although that did not happen, the team did recover from a poor start to the campaign to post their maiden victory in Hungary, while Button was the highest points scorer in the final segment of the championship.

The lessons of last year, when the failure to deliver early in the season left the team facing a barrage of questions from the media, have been learned - and Button is keen not to hype things up too much this time around.

I think it's great that Jenson and his team aren't putting too much pressure on themselves like they did last year. They've got reasonably better chances at a more wide-open 2007, and with less pressure on themselves, they (and us fans) should be able to enjoy success that comes their way to start the season.

Awards galore for Jenson

2006-12-05T08:46:00.000+08:00

In what fans like myself are hoping to be a sign of things to come, Jenson Button is winning a lot of stuff these days. Despite being unable to participate in testing while nursing a rib injury, Jenson has surely been kept busy collecting awards.

After winning F1 Racing magazine's "drive of the year" award last week, Jenson was presented with the British Competition Driver of the Year award at the prestigious Autosport Awards yesterday.

Commenting on the award, Jenson thanked the fans who had voted for him: “Having the support behind you makes the big difference. I have had a lot of support, even in the bad years, but to get the win this year was spectacular.”

Not long after that, Jense was likewise honoured at the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Annual Awards with the very prestigious Graham Hill Trophy.

The Graham Hill Trophy is awarded for the ‘Most Meritorious Performance by a British Driver in Single-Seater Racing’ and was given to Jenson in recognition of his performance at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

“It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for me,” said the British star. “It’s great to know that there’s so much support out there and to get an award from the BRDC is an enormous privilege.”

That's just great stuff, isn't it? Jenson's getting 'round to winning more and more these days. Jense had been coming under heavy criticism for being unable to win a GP prior to his Hungaroring win, so the Autosport Award must've been really sweet for him, as he finally gets some love from those critics. If memory serves me right, Jense also won an award from BRDC in 2004, but I think this marks the first time that he's picked up the Graham Hill trophy. Hey, maybe he can do more of a Graham Hill and win the 2007 WDC. Hahahaha. Here's to hoping and wishing and praying he does, aye?

You can read more by clicking on the links above, or dropping by the Jenson Button forum.

Ho hum... more consumerism.

2006-12-03T19:19:00.000+08:00

Jenson fans might find this site useful.

It's got some pictures of Jense from early on in his f1 career. What makes it worth mentioning though is that it's got this ebay tracker thing at the bottom. I'm not sure what exactly is called, but it does keep track of Jenson-related things up for auction, like autographed prints and even minichamps model cars.

Meanwhile, F1Fanatic.co.uk has featured a DVD covering the 2006 season. Might make a nice christmas present for fellow formula one fans. :)

Not much else new in the news today, as Jenson's currently healing up from his rib injury. Happy weekend to everyone out there!

Barcelona testing wraps up; Button spotted

2006-12-02T07:07:00.000+08:00

Barcelona testing has officially wrapped up, with the Toyotas having the track all to themselves on Friday. Is this something of an unfair advantage? The Toyotas were able to pull of the only sub-01:16:000 laps of the week. Then again, they were probably just running with even more revs given the clear track. Oh well.

Anyway, despite his karting injury, Jenson was still on hand for the testing period. Possibly to monitor progress and obtain feedback from the test drivers. Too bad he hasn't been able to drive yet though. I hope his ribs heal up soon, and properly at that. Honda has a full report of how their testing week went here.

Interestingly enough, ButtonGod mentioned in the forums that Hill and Mansell were both recovering from injuries during the winter prior to their championships runs. Is this a sign of good things to come? Lets hope so!

Get well soon Jense!

Oh, and before I forget, here's a picture of Honda's black car:

Nice, isn't it? I think it's started to grow on me. Hahaha. They'll still be running whites though. I wonder when Honda'll be unveiling their car for the 2007 season?

A lap with Jenson? How about two?

2006-12-01T08:18:00.001+08:00

Just wanted to share one of my fave YouTube vids, Jenson Button driving 'round the Melbourne track without any commentary.

Awesome stuff to just watch him drive. He makes it look so easy, doesn't he?

In case anyone would like more goodies to purchase

2006-11-30T10:56:00.000+08:00

For those that are into Jenson Button collectibles, here's a link that might net you a few more goodies:

F1RacingShop.net

They've got diecast models and litographies available. And a cap too. :)

Happy shopping! :)

Jenson honoured by readers of F1 Racing.

2006-11-29T09:02:00.000+08:00

Jenson wins 'Drive of the Year' for his fantastic breakthrough win at the 2006 Hungarian GP! Good on you Jense!

Here's an exerpt from the official HondaF1 press release:

Honda Racing F1 Team driver Jenson Button and 2006 Third Driver Anthony Davidson have been honoured by the readers of F1 Racing, the world’s best-selling grand prix magazine, in its 2006 Man of the Year Awards.

Jenson was praised as having made the ‘Drive of the Year’ with his breakthrough win from 14th on the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Anthony was recognised as Friday Driver of the Year. Nearly 50,000 of the magazine’s millions of readers worldwide registered their votes in this year’s awards - the biggest turn-out ever.

Of course, you can always read more at HondaF1's official site. :)

Is black the new white?

2006-11-29T08:02:00.000+08:00

Formula One testing kicked off yesterday at Barcelona, and Formula1.com had this to say about Jenson and Honda:

Another man missing from this week’s line-up - though for very different reasons to Alonso and Raikkonen - is Honda’s Jenson Button. The British driver managed to crack two of his ribs in a recent karting accident and has opted to sit out the test to avoid aggravating the injury.

Honda are running their car with a black livery in Spain, and do not be surprised if other teams are sporting new graphics this week in light of the ban on tobacco advertising from 2007.

Black? Could they be running with that for the 2007 season? Hmm. (Formula1.com carries a picture of the black Honda in the article mentioned above... I'll try posting a picture as soon as one is made available).

I'm partial to the white and red that they've been running with since their launch as BAR. The new ban on tobacco ads takes that red Lucky Strike branding away though, so it will be interesting to see what colors Honda takes on for the 2007 season. I suppose black would be much better the potential green one.

Oh, and get well soon Jense!

*edit: It's been brought to my attention that Honda has run black before (Yup, on concept cars). With the Lucky strike branding out though, it's always fun to speculate on which livery Honda will take on for the 2007 season. Just like the green one. :)

---

On a side note, yup, that article from Linksheaven.com (above) was written by yours truly. Yay! I've become a contributor. Wish me luck these next few weeks as I work to establish myself as a permanent writer for this great F1 blog. :)

My World by Jenson Button

2006-11-28T15:10:00.000+08:00

While Jenson heals up from his rib injury, you all might want to ~~check out and purchase~~ preview his book, My World.

It was ~~published just last month, and is available~~ supposed to have been published last month, as mentioned at Amazon.com here.

Book Description
Jenson Button entered the 2006 Formula One season with his best-ever chance of becoming world champion in what already looks like being the most open contest for the title in over a decade. The Honda team has spent fortunes to develop their car, and ensure that the progress of 2005 is just the start. So excited was Jenson by the prospects that he spent millions to buy himself out of his contract with Williams. Now he has decided to provide a full portrait of his life, speaking openly and honestly about his desire to be the best, the pressures he faces every time he races and his hopes for the future. Away from the circuits, he reveals much about his lifestyle and the glamour that attaches itself to the world's most exciting sport. This book provides unique access to Jenson Button's world, with candid photographs showing him both in his private moments and at the times of maximum exposure as the races get under way. This is a book that no fan of Jenson Button can afford to be without, nor anyone who wants to know what makes Britain's most exciting driver tick.

However, according to the forum peeps, it hasn't even been released yet. So I guess you can only pre-order it? You can still check it out at the link though. If it doesn't work, you could always just give it a search. It's bound to turn up at the top of the results page.

~~Now, I wonder if it's already available at our local bookstores.~~ If someone does manage to get their hands on it, please let me know when and where you were able to get it. Ooh, and what it's like. Thanks! :D

*note: post edited after finding out from the forums that it hasn't been released yet. :(

Where in the world are you?

2006-11-26T11:51:00.000+08:00

As if we were lost. Hahaha.

Here's another great way to help Jenson Button fans from all over the world come together and get spotted:

You can also check it out here.

So, where in the world are you? :)

Two race suit contest winners?!

2006-11-26T11:40:00.000+08:00

I hadn't noticed this before, as I assumed that Jenson's official site had announced the same thing Honda F1 did... but apparently not. It was brought up recently in the forums, and there seems to have actually been two winners. Check it out:

What's up with that? If there were two winners, good for them. Otherwise, pity the person that saw their name up there only to find out that it was simply due to a glitch in the system. Maybe they should have a re-draw. Hahaha. Kidding. I hope Honda gets that one sorted out.

BATracer!!

2006-11-25T12:57:00.000+08:00

I signed up for BATracer a few days back. I got myself into an F1 2002 league since Honda was already taken in the F1 2006 race (goes to show just how nuts I am about Honda F1... hahaha). So I picked BAR-Honda and got myself team leader. Hahaha. And I'm mightily proud of my race helmet, btw, which looks a lot like Jenson Button's. :D

Anyway, guess what? The results are just in from my first ever race! I finished 4th from 13th in the grid! Just behind two Ferarris and a McLaren! YAY! My team mate also finished high, 7th from 22nd!!! Go BAR-Honda!! Hahaha.

I just hope I get even more feedback from my team-mate. I'm quite particular about testing, and it really helps if he gets to give me feedback on a set-up that works. So far, so good though. :)

Curious? Sign up for BATracer, too! Maybe next month, we can all join up in one game. As long as I get a race seat at Honda, of course. Hahahaha.

Reminiscing: the 2006 Hungarian GP

2006-11-25T11:38:00.000+08:00

It's fun reading other people's commentaries and recollections of events. I think getting different perspectives helps enrich one's own experience - it adds to the "completeness", giving it an added sense of clarity. Especially to those fondly remembered. That said, childofneptune.blogspot.com has a nice, play by play account of the Hungarian GP.

Me, I remember being all giddy and praying so hard that Jenson would just finish safely. I was all nervous watching Jense inching closer and closer to the chequered flag, yet thoroughly excited at the same time. It was such a big relief when he finally did, and made me believe even more in Jenson's talent and ability to win. I was like "YAY YAY YAY!" when he finally climbed that top step on the podium. Hahahaha.

What are your memories of Jenson's first win?

Get well soon Jenson!

2006-11-25T08:52:00.000+08:00

Oh no.. Here's an exerpt from a Honda F1 report on the start of their winter testing program (and Jenson's health):

Jenson Button is currently en route from Japan where he attended the Honda Racing Thank You Day at the Motegi circuit on Thursday. There he met some of the 26,000 Honda customers invited to a special celebration of Honda’s motorsport participation. He recently sustained two hairline cracks to his ribs whilst participating in a karting test scheduled as part of his winter preparation. As a result, Jenson will not take part in next week’s test to ensure that the condition is not further aggravated.

I hope it heals up soon. It's currently being discussed in the forums here and here.

Putting some effort into it.

2006-11-24T09:38:00.000+08:00

Just got back from forum posting. It's been really fun. I recommend any Jenson fans out there that haven't yet to join up, too. :)

Anyhow, I mistyped my blog's url and forgot to include the "fan" in jensonbuttonfan.blogspot.com. Lo and behold, there was a blog under jensonbutton.blogspot.com. It's nice to see other fans out there making an effort to start Button blogs too. Pity that it hasn't been updated though.

There's also this other blog that tops Google searches for "Jenson Button blog", and it hasn't been updated either. I think it's really sad that they just stay like that. Specially when it tops a Google search. I don't want that to happen to this blog (not being updated, that is). I want to keep updating as much as I can, because I do mean it when I say that I want to be able to cheer Jenson on and share it with you all.

That said, please share this blog with other Jenson fans that you know. And please try to link to my blog from your blogs/websites. Hopefully, when someone tries to search for a Jenson Button blog, they come here, where I hope to be able to continue sharing with them anything and everything Jenson. :)

I'm only happy when it rains

2006-11-23T12:36:00.000+08:00

Post title was taken from an old Garbage song. Hahaha. What's it got to do with Jenson, you ask? Well, I just re-read an old interview by Rachel Cooke on Buzzle.com. And this paragraph really stood out:

So where does Jenson Button fit into all this? 'Button is a very, very quick driver,' James continues. 'Definitely one of the tiny few. "How can we tell?" you ask. The answer is that the difference shows up when it rains. Both Senna and Schumacher first leapt to prominence when the rain temporarily nullified the otherwise crippling disadvantage of second-rate machinery.

Wow. That was back in 2004. Jenson did get his breakthrough win at Hungaroring in the wets. Wouldn't it be nice for Jenson to someday rank among both Ayrton and Schumi among the sport's best? At the very least, 2007 should be a great year, with Honda's potential looking as bright as ever. That should really bring out the talent that Jenson has. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Just to be absolutely sure though, maybe we could "seed" the clouds to make it rain on every single grand prix in '07. Hahahahaha. Just kidding.

Go Jenson!

On Jenson Button Websites

2006-11-23T10:56:00.000+08:00

First off, I've finally been able to watch Jenson's vid at the Royal Albert Hall. YAY! Here's a screenshot:

I've had difficulty logging on with Firefox, so I switched back to Explorer just to try out Jenson's site. Thankfully, it worked then. :) I wonder if the site's got compatibility issues with Mozilla Firefox or there's something in my browser settings that keeps it from loading and working right. Hmph. Oh well. At least I've finally been able to access members' content. It's free, by the way, so all Button fans who haven't yet, you can sign up at his official site.

I've also been able to access the forums, and I've signed up for that too. YAY! Now I get to share with even more Jenson fans around the world. :)

Here's a temporary little siggy I made for the forums:

Design-wise, it's not much yet, but I'm learning photoshop as I go. I'm also learning about blogging and (trying to learn) css programming, so hopefully I'll get to give this layout a makeover and give it a more "Jenson-ish" feel. I'll also try to figure out how to make "" blog tags work here on blogspot, so I can maybe cut up the posts to make it easier for everyone to scroll through the main blog page and pick out what you all would want to read. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

So for all those that haven't yet, you can sign up for two great websites: Jenson's official site at www.JensonButton.com and the Jenson Button Forum. It's a great way to cheer Jenson on and share that passion and excitement with other fans from all over the globe. See you there! :)

Button's race suit takes a trip to Oz

2006-11-22T13:35:00.000+08:00

HondaF1 finally posted word on their Jenson Button race suit contest:

HondaRacingF1.com’s latest competition offered a fabulous prize – one of Jenson Button’s race suits, signed by the Honda Racing F1 Team driver himself. We are now pleased to announce the winner.

Congratulations to Julie Vella from Australia, who was selected by Jenson at random from nearly 5000 entrants.

The prize-draw competition asked Honda Racing F1 Team fans to tell us what they would like to see on Jenson’s own website: www.jensonbutton.com. For those that didn’t win this time, the feedback that has been obtained is much appreciated and will help to shape the future of his personal website.

Look out for a new competition on HondaRacingF1.com in the next few weeks!

Wow! Congratulations to Julie Vella indeed! Lucky lucky! For all of us fans that didn't win, there's always the next contest. Hahaha.

I really hope the entries help Honda's web team create even better content for us Button fans! YAY! :)

Speaking of which, Jenson's got a new video clip posted on his site! I'm having trouble viewing it at the moment though, so I'm not sure if the site navigation's buggy or my connection's just acting up right now. Grr. I'll try again later and post more info on it right away. Happy viewing to those that can! :)

On the 2007 Formula One race calendar

2006-11-22T09:52:00.000+08:00

The 2007 F1 race calendar has gotten a bit shorter again, hasn't it? After reaching a peak of 19 races in 2005, the line-up has gone from 18 in 2006 to 17 for 2007 (with the very real prospect of getting trimmed to an even lower 16 with the possibility of alternating Magny-Cours and Silverstone in the years to come).

These changes can't be good for fans, can it? I mean, I know they're trying to cut down on costs and all, even getting the cars trimmed down to make it more competitive for everyone involved in the sport. But can Formula One really afford to continue cutting back on the number of races?

Formula One is supposed to showcase the very best drivers driving the very best, cutting-edge cars. It brands itself as the penultimate event in open-wheel racing. It even makes a solid case for the best in all of motorsport. That's what makes it so fun to watch. Yet here they go limiting development on the cars WHILE giving us less races to watch? Nearly a month in between Bahrain and the launch of the European leg in Catalunya? C'mon. What can they be thinking?

*sigh*

I just really think it would be better for the sport if it was able to showcase the amazing machines that are Formula One cars on a more regular and frequent basis. As a fan, I would definitely love even more races to watch (and cheer Jenson on his impending championship run). Wouldn't you?

Then again, I really don't know all that much yet about what goes on behind the scenes. Maybe the constructors prefer a lighter schedule to give us better performing cars for the race weekends. I don't know. So if anyone can, please, do enlighten me.

Anthony Davidson on Jenson Button

2006-11-21T12:40:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through some Ant stuff for a bit, and found this little tidbit from an interview on Crash.net:

Q:
There could be as many as four British drivers in F1 next year, which is good to the sport in this country. How much are you looking forward to the chance to rekindle the old karting battles that you used to have with Jenson?

AD:
A lot. Hopefully, we are in a position to be high up on the grid as Jenson probably will be and I won't be looking for him in my mirrors during the race as he comes round to lap me! It will be good to be out on the same track as him and I hope we can have some good battles.

Aguri and Honda are two totally different teams but, as I said earlier, I am still in the Honda family and it will be interesting to not only fight with Jenson but with the team I used to work with - it will be quite strange.

Just wanted to share that. There isn't much else on the news at the moment. Ant deserves his time in the spotlight though. After all those years behind Jenson and Taku (and then Rubens), I'm glad that he finally gets his chance at Super Aguri (with Taku... yet again). He's a lightning-quick driver, and his testing and development abilities will be greatly missed at the factory Honda team.

Anthony Davidson Fan Blog

2006-11-21T11:50:00.000+08:00

Just stumbled upon an Anthony Davidson fan blog. :)

All you Ant and Honda fans might want to check it out, as well as their neat website at AntDavidson.com.

I hope Ant starts scoring some serious points for Super Aguri Honda this year. Oh, and by the way, Ant will start the 2007 season at 27 too. 27 IS good. Hahaha. :)

Is 27 already too old?

2006-11-19T12:38:00.000+08:00

Is 27 already too old to win a championship in today's Formula One? Jenson Button will have turned 27 by the start of the 2007 F1 season, and with already 118 Grand Prix starts under his belt and just one (albeit spectacular and well-earned) win to show for it, a lot of people have been doubting if Jenson will ever win a championship.

Much of it, I think, is due to the fact that drivers are getting started much, much earlier these days. And they're getting thrust into the media spotlight like crazy.

There's certainly a lot being said about how young the likes of Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica are, and it isn't without good reason, given the way they've already performed. At age 20, Rosberg (now 21) became the youngest driver in F1 to set a fastest lap (set during his points-scoring debut at the 2006 Bahrain GP). Kubica, meanwhile, drove to a podium finish at the 2006 Monza GP. Similarly, teener Sebastian Vettel set the fastest times at the Turkish GP practice sessions without any prior F1 or track experience! Add to that the retirement of Schumi, and the possibility of Lewis Hamilton being thrown into the mix (also 21), and these guys are already being tipped as the future of Formula One.

Having started at roughly the same age as these "next gen" racers and racking up 118 races along the way, it certainly does make Jenson's 27 years look old, doesn't it?

But is 27 really too old? I think not.

You've got to remember that those 118 races also mean 118 races worth of experience. That experience is invaluable, and it should speak volumes about the top-level consistency of performance that Jenson has found for himself. Jenson is now entering his prime. The young guns may be fast, but it remains to be seen whether they (and their teams) can be consistent enough to fight for a championship.

A lot of it is also down to the car, and I think the upcoming season is as good as any for Honda and Jenson to finally win it all. Bernie [Ecclestone] can diss Jenson all he wants, but I do believe firmly in Jenson's dedication to testing (the most of anyone last winter), commitment and ability to win a Formula One Driver's Championship. The pieces are in place for Jenson to finally deliver on the promise of his talent; I believe that he can, and that he will win it all this year.

The likes of Rosberg and Kubica may be the future, but this season is Jenson's to take.

Emerson Fittipaldi, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso may have all won multiple championships before they turned 27, but one of the greatest, the late Ayrton Senna, hadn't even gotten his first until the age of 28.

27 sounds just about right.

(Go Jenson!)

Limited edition RA106 model

2006-11-18T15:48:00.000+08:00

Oh wow.. Check this out:

Now that is one amazingly detailed model. It's a limited-edition run; only 50 handmade 1/8 scale replicas were made. The RA106 is Jenson's, supposedly based on the car Button brought to third in the 2006 Malaysian GP. It's very pretty, but it also comes with a steep price tag. At $4912.96, this isn't a "toy" for just anyone. That's as close as real gets though to owning an RA106, so the few that do get to purchase this thing are pretty lucky.

I wish someone could buy one for me. Buy me one please? :D

121 days to go!

2006-11-18T10:32:00.000+08:00

121 days til the opening in Melbourne! Hahaha. I noticed the countdown on the HondaF1 site just now. That's roughly four more months from today. Pft. Still a long way to go.

As big an F1 fan as I am, I've never actually watched a grand prix in person. I really wish I could though. Problem is, I'd need some serious fundage to watch one. I seriously doubt there'd ever be a grand prix held here, so I'd have to plan a trip to the Asian races, or maybe even the Aussie one. Still, it'd probably be well worth it. Then I could meet Jenson. And take his car out for a test drive, too. Hahahaha. Hey, a guy can dream. And who knows? It could happen someday. :P

Anyway, still no news on the the Jenson Button race suit contest winner. Gah. I suppose whoever won it would've been notified by now. And since I haven't been contacted for anything, I think it's pretty safe to assume that I didn't win. Oh well. :(

121 days more and there'll be another race suit being put to use. Maybe they'll raffle that one out by the end of the 2007 season. And hopefully it'll be a championship-winning one then. Hahaha.

Looking forward to the RoC

2006-11-17T13:22:00.000+08:00

Not much in the news today.

The Autosport Team England squad for this year's Race of Champions (RoC) has been finalized with the addition of 2005 WTCC champion Andy Priaulx. Priaulx joins Jenson in what should be a pretty solid pairing for the Nation's Cup event. I can't wait to see the race. I just hope it gets televised over here. Hahaha.

Still no word on the Jenson Button's Race Suit contest winner, although the contest page has already been closed. I wonder who the lucky person is?

That's about it really. *yawn* I'm off to rest. Good day everyone!

Jenson Button's motorhome

2006-11-16T12:29:00.000+08:00

Jenson's motorhome is reportedly up for sale. For £200k. I can only wish that I had that much money on me right now. Hahahaha.

Anyone interested? You can check it out at Pitpass and Edwards Hospitality Services.

EDIT: Hahaha. This article from itv-f1.com was just too funny to pass up. Click on the link to get an "idea" of what Jenson's might be replacing his motorhome with. :D

EDIT part II: Ooh.. is this Jenson's new motorhome?

Things to read from months past

2006-11-16T11:16:00.000+08:00

For all those who haven't come across it yet (it came out about a month after the win at the Hungaroring), I think this article by The Sunday Times Online on Jenson makes for a good read. It's a bit lengthy, but it does share with its readers a glimpse of what Jenson's like.

You've also got Button's exclusive year end interview from Formula1.com.

Happy reading! :)

Honda signs Klein

2006-11-16T09:53:00.000+08:00

Just checked in on Honda F1's site. No winner has been announced yet for the Jenson Button Race Suit contest. They've posted news on their test driver line-up for 2007 though.

The Honda Racing F1 Team is pleased to announce its test driver line-up for the 2007 Formula One season. Joining race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will be Christian Klien in the role of Test and Reserve Driver, while James Rossiter steps up to the role of an official test driver.

Klein had been in competition with McLaren's Gary Paffet for the role (see Crash.net and Eurosport.com) after third driver Anthony Davidson secured a well-deserved race seat at Super Aguri Honda (all the best to him!).

With Klein, Honda gets some three years of invaluable race experience and technical know-how. He could also conceivably fill in rather ably for either race driver should the need ever arise. Paffet, I suppose, is back to competing with Lewis Hamilton and Pedro Dela Rosa for the second McLaren seat alongside Alonso.

So there. Just wanted to report on that. On to Jenson news...

Jenson Button Fan Listing

2006-11-15T15:08:00.000+08:00

Just joined a Jenson Button Fan Listing! Join up too! :)

Get a chance to win Jenson's race suit!

2006-11-15T11:55:00.001+08:00

I don't know if it's still on, since the notice posted was as follows:

The winner of the signed race suit will be selected on Monday 15 November 2006 and announced on HondaRacingF1.com shortly thereafter.

Weeell, Monday was last November 13... but... since the winners haven't been announced yet (the racing forever contest draw has been the only one posted thus far) and the link is still active, I'm thinking that the right date would be for today, Wednesday, November 15, 2006. If it is, you could still get a chance to win Jenson's race suit!

If you somehow manage to stumble across my site within the next few minutes (highly improbabale, I know, but it's worth a shot), do please enter! You only have to fill out a quick survey on which features you'd like to see on JensonButton.Com. It's a good chance to help give the Honda web team some valuable feedback, and there's a cool prize in store for ya if you win! The current site's a bit slow, and there are nav glitches, so any improvement there would be a big plus (remember, your chance to win the race suit is also a chance to let the people at HondaF1 know how they might be able to improve Jenson's site!). Hurry and join up while you still can!

Introduction FanButton!

2006-11-15T09:41:00.000+08:00

Hello! My name's Josh. I'm an Alonso, but I'm not related to Fernando (or at least, I don't think I am). I've been a big fan of F1 since I was a kid (the Ayrton Senna/Alain Prost/Gerhard Berger days) and I've been a loyal fan to what is now the Honda Racing F1 Team since its inception as BAR [Supertec] in 1999. I started out cheering for Jacques, but Jenson won me over in 2003 with his driving, and I've been a HUGE Button fan ever since!

I think by now it's been established that Jenson's got remarkable consistency and excellent race pace, but I think what really sets him apart is his smooth driving style. He may not be as aggressive as the likes of Fernando and Michael, but he can definitely make going fast, fast, fast look so effortless. And I like that.

Take Jenson's maiden victory at the Hungaroring, for example. Now that was an absolute stunner! I mean, starting from 14th in the grid to chasing and gaining on Fernando (until the latter's retirement) in rain-soaked conditions? WOW. That race was a true showcase of Jenson's talents - his consistency and resiliency, his racing smarts and his smooth driving style.

Team-wise, Honda hasn't always been able to provide Jenson with the most reliable and consistently competitive package out there. It's been maddening at times to watch them set the bar during practice and testing only to see them sputter during the actual race. When they do get it right though, they are fun to watch and root for.

If the last few races of 2006 season are any indication of form for the 2007 season, then they are getting there - and in a big way, too. Jenson finished the year with a flourish, scoring the most points of anyone (yup, besting even Fernando and Schumi Sr) since his Hungaroring win. Yeah, yeah. That's been seemingly pointed out a lot lately... but hey, why not? It IS impressive, and with the engine freeze coming up, we can and should expect more of the same good stuff for the upcoming season.

Now that the 2006 season's over, there has been a bit of a lull in the stream of happenings around Formula One. Most of the racing seats have been secured, and testing no longer seems to be as furious with the expected homologation taking effect. All that does nothing to discourage my Jenson fandom though! Hurrah for him year round!

Over the next few months, I'll be crawling the web for any news and scoops on anything Button. I'll also be checking for any updates from both Honda and Jenson's official sites. And posting them here, of course. So do check back, because I personally like keeping posted on my favorite driver. And if he's yours too, then I'd very much like to be able to share that with you. Go Jenson!