Larry Herman

With 2 races to go, how do you feel about Button if he becomes WDC. Personally I think that if he finishes strong i.e. wins out or at least gets seconds, then he he deserves it as much as any other. He drove flawlessly in the beginning of the season when others (including Rubens) were struggling or making mistakes, and it wouldn't be the first time that someone with a superior car won it all. However, if he doesn't get it together for these last 2 races and backs into to it because RB and SV can't catch him, I feel that he would go down as one of the weakest drivers to win it. What say you?

wanna911

Boooooooo.

Barichello FTW.

Chads996

Agreed - However, if Button wins - it is his WDC to relish.

C.

Geoffrey

I think Button was winning races in a car that was obviously more advanced and therefore faster than his competitors. It is for this reason that he won, and not his driving skills. So, do I think he deserves to win the WDC? I think the team deservs to win because of the package, but I don't consider Button a world class driver in the same league as Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso.

gums

I like Button, I think he speaks well for the sport, shows his enthusiasm and is a fair player. Further, he paid his dues for many years, entering the top rank as a talent who spent too many years in inferior equipment.
Having said that, I also love Barichello for his years of loyal support, unwavering enthusiasm and genuine emotional expressions.

John H

Good question. This may be one of the most thought provoking polls I've seen here in a long time. Wat to go Larry!

gricec

Well he deserves it simply for getting the most points.

I dont believe he deserves to be a great champion though. That car at the start of the season was simply phenomonal. He did do a great job with it though and won 6 races.

If he dooesnt win though, he will probably have to pack up and leave f1. this was his golden chance and if he messes this up, he will have absolutley zero confidence.

multi21

Button is a journeyman at best and not worthy of being mentioned as a champion with the others before him.

The one thing you can say about him is that he came to grips with a superior car faster than Rubens did at the beginning of the year.

I don't think the Brawn car slipped in performance the balance of the year as much as everyone else caught up to it and surpassed it. As a result of time, Barrichello was able to adapt to the car much better and is now putting in considerably better results than Button in both qualifying and the race.

Button will probably win because of the huge points lead he has with only 2 to go, however.

2BWise

If you manage to outscore your opponents over the course of a season you deserve the WDC. He's consistently been in the points and consistently finished (minus Spa). Although if he chokes this year he will have lost his only chance at it because I don't see the same performance gap happening next year.

I do agree that the team deserves it more as the car they provided him was absolutely dominant from the start.

M758

Wins at the start of the season are worth the same points as wins at the end of the year. It has always been the case that luck and a flash of brilliance can win a single championship. However winning multiple championship is what seperates the good racers from the best.

If Button wins it he wins it. It makes him a WDC, but not the best driver in F1. Best for the season sure, but not the best of all time. There have been many WDC one year wonders that won it due to some tech edge that their team exploit for 1 season. That and little luck and a lesser driver can win a WDC. It has always been like that. Greatness comes from mutiple WDC or from consistant performnce over a career.

Jim Child

I think the driver who earns the most points deserves to win it - period. If we don't like the outcome then we should blame the points system, not the driver.

I do think that Button has been in a prevent defense mode during the last half of the season, racing to not lose the championship rather than clinch it early.

Larry Herman

And that is the essence of the question. Of course if he garners the most points then he is the winner, but is he a worthy Champion? I feel that he should finish with a definitive win or 2 to re-establish that he is still at the top now when Hamilton, Vettel and even his own team-mate are on-form.

ltc

To use a NA$CAR analogy, Button is to F1 WDC as Matt Kenseth is to a Winston Cup Champion.

DWalker

I have always liked Button, even back when he was in "inferior" cars he still did well, although I believe he was possibly more brilliant in his first or second year he was at the same time plagued with car problems and simple lack of experience. This has since changed as he has matured as a driver and "paid his dues", whereas I think now he is more seasoned but less brilliant behind the wheel. I also think that because the car was more advanced is only half the picture, as the driver still has to do his job in working with the engineers to set the car up so he can drive it to potential, which is part of that maturity. As a mature driver, this is what he is supposed to do.

multi21

Brawn has won the WCC.

In all likelihood, Vettel will be mathmatically eliminated in this next race from WDC contention leaving Button and Rubens.

As mentioned in another thread, Rubens is set to go to Williams next year regardless of what happens at Brawn this year.

Don't mean to go A. Wayne on everyone, but the better questions is where do you think Brawn GP is going to throw their support, their British driver who is staying or their Brazilian driver who is going to another team?