Zoom Six wins and the dream has come true for Button

Jenson Button has joined the elite group of race drivers to have won the world championship. His fifth position in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix was enough to clinch the title from Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello.

"[This] was the best race that I've driven in my career and I'm really going to enjoy this moment," said Button. "This season has been a rollercoaster ride from the elation of the wins at the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season which has seen us grind out the results needed to take the titles.

"To everyone back at the factory in Brackley, thank you for all of your hard work and for producing such a fantastic car,” he continued. “It's going to take a while to sink in but for now I'm just revelling in the achievement of a lifelong dream."

Button is the tenth British champion following in the footsteps of Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and the out-going champion Lewis Hamilton.

His string of six wins from the first seven races equalled a record set by Clark and Michael Schumacher and formed the foundation of his championship campaign. While his final win of the season came at Istanbul in June - pending the last round of the season in Abu Dhabi - since then he was able to score points on a regular basis much to the frustration of his rivals.

Button has had his fair share of critics for his performance in the second half of the championship, but had he started the season with points paying finishes and ended the season with a string of victories, his success would have, arguably, been seen in a differing light.

He may not have the flair of some of his rivals and may not put the car right on the limit week in week out, but his Brazilian race was a very good performance and with more points than his rivals, he has achieved his career objective of championship success following many years of loyalty to Honda and its new successor, Brawn GP.

In view of his team having taken the constructors' crown as well, Button's title caps what has been a fairytale success story for the Brawn team, an outfit which came close to shutting its doors mere weeks before the 2009 championship began. The BGP 001 completed its first on-track testing only a month before the season's first race.

“I am so incredibly proud of the team and our drivers and it's so very special to have won the constructors' and the drivers' championships in our first year as Brawn GP,” said Ross Brawn. “It's really going to take a while for what we have achieved today to sink in. Jenson is a fantastic racer and he had a great race today, particularly after such a difficult qualifying yesterday. He knew what he had to do and did just that and is a very deserving world champion.”

Brazilian Grand Prix race report.

Earl ALEXANDER
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