Mark Webber & Jenson Button over 2010 - the verdict

[raymondu999]

Hey all.

Before the season, we had Mark Webber, and Jenson Button. Both drivers who many said would be absolutely glazed over by their teammates spectacularly. Well for some reason that hasn't happened.

Mark has really upped his game, especially after an (almost... lacking the fastest lap) grand chelem in Spain, which upped his confidence and he was able to deliver in the ultimate driver test of Monaco.

JB has, for most of the season (other than brilliant calls in Australia and China to win the race) played tortoise and the hare against Lewis.

Whilst both ultimately WERE beaten over the season by their teammates, both weren't DEMOLISHED as some said either.

What's your verdict on both drivers after their performance this year?

I never thought much of either of them as drivers before, but this year has seen me proven wrong.

Also, a lot of people are saying that this year was Mark Webber's last shot at the championship... including Jack Brabham etc etc. Now if we look at the cold, hard, facts, Mark (though towards the end he kind of wilted under pressure I guess) has been impressive. I never thought he could even find himself in the position to challenge for the title in the last race. Red Bull has Newey too, and while I don't expect them to be as dominant as they sometimes were this year (1.2 secs in Hungary!?) I expect them to still be one of, if not the fastest car.

What do you all think?

[dave34m]

I too was surprised with Mark Webber, but unless the Red Bull is so much better than the others again next year he wont be in contention. Jensen Button had a reasonably good year but really Lewis is just faster, maybe the car suits him better. 2011 could be an interesting year for Jensen. I wish him all the best.

[RH1300S]

I think the season results say it all. Up against Vettel and Hamilton, Button & Webber hardly set the world on fire for out and out pace. But neither are mugs and both capable of being right on the tails of the fastest in world.

I think Webber and Button used experience and maturity combine with good (but not astounding) pace to rack up a solid points haul.

More than any of them I think Mark Webber did a great job to be where he was for so long - perhaps the pressure got to him in the end, or perhaps the inevitablity of Vettels superior pace ultimately put paid to his challenge (by that I mean that Vettel with a little less brain fade and a little more mechanical luck would have done for Webber a lot earlier).

As for Button he has looked composed and clever several times this season, but he seems to suffer when the car (or his head??) isn't quite right. He should never have let Hammy re-take him in Turkey, that was possibly the turning point that established/confirmed Hamilton as 'the man' at McLaren.

[ringo]

I think Webber had a better year, not becuase of the car allowing him to lead the championship at times, but becuase he was able to beat his teammate pace for pace at some tracks.
Mark also is pretty much a challenge for Vettel. Vettel can't rest easy with Mark as a teammate. On the other hand Lewis can rest easy knowing that Jenson is his teammate.
Speed is always the deciding factor, so i guess Mark did better. Though i must say Jenson is a more stable driver. Mark vs Jenson in the same team would be interesting.

Vettel vs Jenson would probably have Jenson beaten worse than Mark i would think.
Speed is the name of the game.

[Arunas]

I think Webber had a better year, not becuase of the car allowing him to lead the championship at times, but becuase he was able to beat his teammate pace for pace at some tracks.
Mark also is pretty much a challenge for Vettel. Vettel can't rest easy with Mark as a teammate. On the other hand Lewis can rest easy knowing that Jenson is his teammate.
Speed is always the deciding factor, so i guess Mark did better. Though i must say Jenson is a more stable driver. Mark vs Jenson in the same team would be interesting.

Vettel vs Jenson would probably have Jenson beaten worse than Mark i would think.
Speed is the name of the game.

+1
Agree on that 100%

[raymondu999]

It's quite interesting though... other than Monaco, Mark has only really won in the races where RBR has had a massive advantage. Hungary, Silverstone, Spain. 1.2, 0.8, 0.8.

Both are somewhat playing the tortoise and the hare. Having said that Mark is bedded into the team already, whilst Jenson has not. I'm not talking in terms of his working environment etc, but more on the car. 2011 should be interesting as McLaren will be able to build him that should suit his style better out of the box.

[lebesset]

I tend to watch the TV with radio5 live commentary through the race , and , of course , they are the only commentary during practise

at abu dhabi ant davidson was talking about this years bridgestone tyres ...he said that they were particularly difficult to switch on , so obviously the smoother the driving style the more difficult it will be ; I immediately though of button

the 2011 cars will , in effect , be going back to nearer the 2009 characteristics , so depending on what pirelli do , there could be some significant differences in the team pecking orders !

[lolzi]

It has been implied a couple of times that the "catching up" Webber did on Vettel's pace last year also had something to do with the front tyres getting thinner - apparently, Vettel was happier with the very aggresive front tyres, while Webber likes this year's tyres better.

[raymondu999]

I think it's been well documented that Vettel preferred last year's tyres to this year's with their aggressive turn in (Just watch his China and Australia pole laps, Turn 1 for what I mean) whereas Webber prefers the stability of this year's tyres.

[marcush.]

tbh Speedwise and for his racecraft I rate Hamilton more than Vettel so Button had the tougher job according to my book.
Both Webber and Button had races this year when they were unaexplainably slower than their teammate and there was simply no other explanation as lack of speed coming from their driving.Webber not delivering in the last race a clear indication of just how important the state of mind is when it comes to extracting the last few tenths of the car.Let the pressure come to you and you will loose any edge if you had it ..

[raymondu999]

Speedwise I don't think we can compare Vettel/Hamilton and Button/Webber as they've never been in equal machinery though.

[andartop]

I think both of them did pretty well compared to Massa or Schumacher!

[ringo]

Both are somewhat playing the tortoise and the hare. Having said that Mark is bedded into the team already, whilst Jenson has not. I'm not talking in terms of his working environment etc, but more on the car. 2011 should be interesting as McLaren will be able to build him that should suit his style better out of the box.

The car is made neutral and Jenson had enough time over the winter to customize his cockpit and steering wheel.
Alonso had to deal with the same thing and he was pretty much comfortable in the car. So was Klien in the HRT.

If you can drive you can drive; tyres, car, track, temperature etc etc. An ace driver adapts. 2011 wont be any different for jenson.
I tend to think Webber is the faster driver, and for that reason alone, he can hold his own against Vettel.

[siskue2005]

It's quite interesting though... other than Monaco, Mark has only really won in the races where RBR has had a massive advantage. Hungary, Silverstone, Spain. 1.2, 0.8, 0.8.

Both are somewhat playing the tortoise and the hare. Having said that Mark is bedded into the team already, whilst Jenson has not. I'm not talking in terms of his working environment etc, but more on the car. 2011 should be interesting as McLaren will be able to build him that should suit his style better out of the box.

Hungary Vettel would have won, he was leading the race.... if it was not for his team asking him to slow down the field and after that receiving a penalty for that.

again in Silverstone, Vettel's puncture

only place were he beat Vettel to win are at Monaco and Spain

[Mysticf1]

I don't think you can discount silverstone, Webber took the lead at the first corner, the puncture happened due to his contact with Hamilton...

Webbers chances of victory on several occasions were dashed by not getting pole, several times by less than a 10th of a second. Vettel has that edge in qualy that must really frustrate Webber...considering their height/weight difference effecting balast use, they are extremely close. Webber isnt as consistent irrespective of circuit however.