Sports

Thursday October 1, 2009

Button keeps calm as F1 title beckons in Japan

SUZUKA (Japan): Jenson Button has his first chance to win the Formula One title on Sunday at the Japanese Grand Prix but the Brawn driver will not be rushed.

The Briton banked four points in Singapore at the weekend to move 15 points clear of Brazilian team-mate Rubens Barrichello with three races remaining.

“People say that if I finish five points in front of Rubens I can win the championship,” he said.

“I know that’s a fact. But my aim is to win the world championship and I’m not going to take any unusual risks.

“I’m just going to drive like I have been and hopefully that will be enough.”

Button also knows that scoring five more points than Barrichello is a tall order on current form. He has managed to do that only twice this season and not since winning the Turkish Grand Prix in June.

Button, winner of six of the first seven races of the season, will have to perform a balancing act, maintaining his push for the title but also keeping out of trouble.

Lewis Hamilton, the man he would replace as champion, reminded him in Singapore how he had blown a 17-point lead in the last two races of 2007 to lose the championship by a single point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Even if the drivers’ championship stays open, Brawn can become the only team to have won the title in their debut season.

The Mercedes-powered outfit are 42.5 points clear of Red Bull with just 36 left to be won after Japan, and Suzuka would be a great place to do it given the team’s recent Honda ownership.

The pressure is on Red Bull to score seven points more than Brawn on Sunday to keep the battle going at least mathematically.

Barrichello is one of just three current drivers to have won at Suzuka, which is making its return to the calendar after the last two Japanese races were held at Fuji.

Raikkonen and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who looks certain to take the Finn’s place at Ferrari next year with an announcement imminent, should both go well at one of their favourite fast circuits.

Hamilton, who won in Singapore, has never raced there but cannot wait to get to grips with one of the sport’s great tracks.

“It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to race at Suzuka - so, as you can imagine, I’ll be really excited when practice starts there on Friday morning,” said the 24-year-old.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve raced Suzuka on computer games - and while it kind of gives you an idea of how the circuit goes, nothing can beat the real thing. It looks like a real driver’s circuit,” he added.

Toyota will also be doing their utmost to put on a show at the Honda-owned track, with their hopes boosted by Timo Glock’s second place in Singapore despite continuing speculation about their future in the sport. — Reuters

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

Sports Poll