Comparing the 2015 teammates: McLaren

Today I will continue the series by comparing Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

I will start with the 2009 world champion Jenson Button. First the year, the teammate and how it went.

2000 - Ralf Schumacher. His first teammate was hard to beat because Ralf was at his best at the time. He was also the younger brother of the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher. Ralf got twice the amount of points than Jenson (24-12).

2001 - Giancarlo Fisichella. 8-2! That was the score between Fisi and Jenson at Benetton. It looked like Jenson's career was going backwards.

2002 - Jarno Trulli. This year Benetton became Renault and Button became a better driver! He won his more experienced teammate by 5 points. Button was 7th in the championship which was his best yet. Trulli was 8th that year.

2003 - Jaques Villeneuve and Takuma Sato. At BAR Honda Jenson had to fight against a former world champion. So how did it go? He got more points than his two teammates combined. Sato drove for only one race but still got a 6th place which was also Villeneuve's best result that year. 

2004 - Takuma Sato. Button was clearly the better driver and got the number one driver treatment from his team. This was Button's best season yet when he was 3rd in the championship. The only ones in front of him were the unstoppable Ferrari's driven by Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

2005 - Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. This year the BAR Honda was illegal and was excluded from 2 races and disqualified from 1. Sato was also disqualified from one more race but Button wasn't. If we look at the points that they managed to get then Button won them both again. He got 37 points when his teammates got only 1 single point combined (Davidson didn't get a single point).

2006 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the team became Honda and Barrichello joined them from Ferrari. Button took his first ever victory in Hungary and was 6th in the championship. Barrichello was right behind in 7th place but had over 20points less than Button.

2007 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the car was just awful! Button was 15th in the standings and Barrichello didn't score one single point and was 20th.

2008 - Rubens Barrichello. This time Barrichello got 11 points and Button only 3. Well.. at least he got 3 points instead of no points. Barrichello was 14th in the standings and Button was 18th.

2009 - Rubens Barrichello. This year Button won the world championship with Brawn GP which had been Honda and BAR Honda earlier. The score was 95-77 between him and his teammate. 

2010 - Lewis Hamilton. The 2009 world champion joined McLaren as the 2008 world champion's teammate. People were sure that Jenson had no chance against Lewis but made everybody shut up by winning a race before him. In the end the score was 240-214 between the two of them which ment that Lewis was better (as the press had predicted).

2011 - Lewis Hamilton. This time Jenson was hungry to beat his teammate and did just that with a score of 270-227. Button was runner up in the championship and Hamilton was 5th.

2012 - Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton's last year with McLaren and also the deciding year; who was better Hamilton or Button? Hamilton won 4 races and Button 3. If we look at the points it was 190-188 between them. Very close but Hamilton won with two points.

2013 - Sergio Perez. This teammate couldn't really fight against Button. He had his moments but usually he was just overdoing everything. He crashed into people and he missed braking points. At the end of the season the score was 73-49 with Button on the 9th place and Perez on the 11th. McLaren didn't wanna continue his contract and signed Magnussen for 2014.

2014 - Kevin Magnussen. Even though Kevin Magnussen started the season by taking a 2nd place for McLaren, Button won his younger teammate in points (126-55). Magnussen made a lot of mistakes (mostly front wing related) but still got to stay at McLaren as a reserve driver. He will drive in the first race instead of Alonso because of the Spaniard's crash in testing.

Now let's continue by comparing Alonso's teammates.

2001 - Tarso Marques/Alex Yoong. Fernando lost to Tarso Marques but won Alex Yoong. None of the drivers got any points though. Back then only the first 6 got points.

2002 - DID NOT RACE

2003 - Jarno Trulli. Fernando won his more experienced teammate by 22 points. Trulli felt like Renault's team boss Flavio Briatore wanted him to be the number 2 driver.

2004 - Jarno Trulli/Jaques Villeneuve. Fernando got 13 points more than his teammates combined.

2005 - Giancarlo Fisichella. Fernando won his teammate with 75 points which is very much! He also won the championship. For some reason Fisichella had a lot of problems the whole year with the car and retired 6 times when Alonso only twice.

2006 - Giancarlo Fisichella. Fernando won Fisichella with 62 points. Again a big amount of points more than his teammate who retired this time only twice.

2007 - Lewis Hamilton. They got exactly the same amount of points, and won races equally but Hamilton had more 2nd positions which made him the "better" driver that year. Fernando left McLaren right away after the season came to an end. Some say that he didn't like the situation where he wasn't the clear number one driver. Some others say that McLaren favored the rookie Hamilton over the two time world champion. This year Alonso is returning to that same team. Alonso says that he has matured a lot after that season and thinks this is going to be different.

2008 - Nelson Piquet Jr. Fernando won the young newcommer with 42 points and was the clear number one in the team again. The team also asked Piquet to crash on purpose so that the Spaniard would win in Singapore.

2009 - Nelson Piquet Jr./Romain Grosjean. This year Fernando only got 26 points but his teammates got none.

2010 - Felipe Massa. Fernando won his teammate by 108 points with the new scoring system and was 2nd in the championship. He lost the championship in the last race when he got stuck behind Petrov.

2011 - Felipe Massa. Fernando's victory over his teammate was even greater. 139 points!

2012 - Felipe Massa. Even more! 156 points, but Ferrari gave Felipe Massa one last chance to prove himself to the team.

2013 - Felipe Massa. Fernando won his teammate again very clearly which forced Ferrari to sign Kimi Räikkönen instead of Massa.

2014 - Kimi Räikkönen. The 2014 car was awful but Fernando won the Finn clearly. Some say that the car was designed for Alonso and was too different for Kimi. Some others say that Kimi has lost his touch even though he drove a very good season the year before.

This is why Jenson Button wasn't on the Graham Norton show...

Short video of Graham Norton calling Jenson Button and asking why he didn't come to the show.

McLaren's new era

If you haven't seen this then check it out!

McLaren confirm Alonso and Button for 2015

Jenson Button will partner Fernando Alonso at McLaren next year, after the team announced the two former champions as their race drivers for the 2015 Formula One season on Thursday.

Kevin Magnussen, who drove alongside Button for what was his rookie campaign in 2014, will serve as McLaren’s test and reserve driver.

McLaren Group chairman and CEO Ron Dennis said a partnership of Button and Alonso - whose return to McLaren had been widely predicted following his departure from Ferrari - would drive the team forward for what will be the first year of their renewed partnership with Honda.

“McLaren’s policy has always been to assemble the strongest line-up possible, and in Fernando and Jenson I firmly believe that is exactly what we have,” said Dennis. “We signed Fernando a little while ago, but we decided not to announce the fact until we had also re-signed Jenson as his team mate.

“For many reasons our negotiations with Jenson took quite a long time, but, now that they have been concluded, we are confident that our collaboration with him will continue to thrive in the future every bit as well as it has in the past. Make no mistake about it, Jenson is 100 percent committed to McLaren-Honda, to Formula One, and to winning.

“As a pair, he and Fernando are supremely experienced. Fernando has started 234 Grands Prix, has converted 32 of those starts to victories, has stood on a Grand Prix podium 97 times, and has won the drivers’ world championship not once but twice. He is a class act.

“He is 33 - which, for an athlete as physically fit as he is, constitutes a Formula One driver’s professional prime of life. Moreover, he is old enough to be experienced and expert, yet young enough to be enthusiastic and energetic. I therefore firmly believe he will deploy those four e’s - experience, expertise, enthusiasm and energy - to drive forward McLaren-Honda’s on-track success next season and for quite a few seasons to come.”

Alonso said he was delighted to finally confirm his switch from Ferrari to McLaren, for whom he previously contested the 2007 season.

“I am joining this project with enormous enthusiasm and determination, knowing that it may require some time to achieve the results we are aiming for, which is no problem for me,” commented the Spaniard. “Over the past year I have received several offers, some of them really tempting, given the current performance of some of the teams that showed interest. But, more than a year ago, McLaren-Honda contacted me and asked me to take part, in a very active way, in the return of their partnership - a partnership that dominated the Formula One scene for so long.

“McLaren-Honda’s repeated and open desire, perseverance and determination in making it possible for me to join their exciting renewed partnership, have been some of the main factors that made me take this decision, not forgetting the most important factor of all: we share a common objective and expectations, and there is a very solid future, with confidence, ahead.

“I have had in-depth discussions with all the senior people at both McLaren and Honda, I have viewed their fantastic facilities in both the UK and Japan, and it is clear to me that, together, McLaren and Honda are in the process of beginning what is sure to be a long and successful partnership. And I intend to give 100 percent effort to help make it exactly that.”

Button said he was excited to line up for what will be his 16th F1 season. The Briton had been vying with Magnussen for the right to partner Alonso. The two were evenly matched for pure pace in 2014, with Button out-qualifying the Danish rookie 10-9. The Briton had a more pronounced advantage in the races, however, scoring twice as many points over the season.

“Like Fernando, I am certain that McLaren and Honda will achieve great things together, and I feel sure that, working together, all of us will pull incredibly hard to create a brilliantly effective winning team,” commented Button, who drove for the Japanese company’s former works team earlier in his F1 career.

“I admired Ayrton Senna enormously, but, for me, it was the exploits of his McLaren-Honda team-mate Alain Prost that inspired me most as a boy. The way he stroked those beautifully brutal red-and-white cars to grand prix wins and world championships was to my mind poetry in motion, and I have tried to emulate his driving style ever since.

“Being a part of new-look McLaren-Honda is a wonderful opportunity for all of us, and I am very pleased to have been invited to do my bit. In fact, I am absolutely raring to go. I am also very glad that Kevin will remain part of the team. He is a very quick driver and a really nice guy.

“Looking forward, I know the Honda guys well, having driven Formula One cars powered by their engines from 2003 to 2008. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for them, and promise to give 100 percent to make their partnership with McLaren a success.

“Last but far from least, I am very much looking forward to having a driver as fast and as experienced as Fernando as my team mate. I am sure we will work extremely well together.”

(source: f1.com)

McLaren to bring in major updates before Abu Dhabi

McLaren will introduce a 'major upgrade' package before the end of 2014 in a bid to capitalise on their current resurgence and aid their preparations for next year's Formula One world championship.

The team introduced a similarly significant set of updates in Singapore and, after refinements in Japan and Russia, have moved up the competitive order, outscoring all but Mercedes and Red Bull over the last two Grands Prix.

While team principal Eric Boullier played down the significance of McLaren's revival in terms of their constructors' position, he said developments over the last three races will be critical to establishing a platform for success next year and beyond.

"We are not chasing championship position, we are chasing the final restructuring of the team; to be ready to build on the new structure, to be competitive sooner rather than later," Boullier said during a McLaren-Mercedes phone-in.

"The reason [for the upturn] is the major upgrade which we brought to Singapore. It is true we have another major upgrade coming before the end of the season. It is not designed to bring advantage for the double points [available in Abu Dhabi], it is more about building the foundations for the future. One hundred percent [of 2014 developments] are applicable to next year's car."

Asked whether overhauling Ferrari was a consideration for McLaren - the two teams are now separated by just 45 points - Boullier added: "It is more about bringing the momentum back to the team and getting some good results in the last three races.

"If the performance on our car is good and we can deliver some strong races like Russia we will see if we can take back another championship position - I would be delighted to. [But] I don't think we have a clear target this year other than rebuilding the team and getting ready to fight back as soon as possible."

McLaren's return of fourth and fifth places in Sochi was their best team result since the Australian season opener back in March, when Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button claimed second and third - which remain McLaren's only podiums of the 2014 campaign to date.

(source: f1.com)

David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen drive old McLarens

I have posted a few Mika Häkkinen pics and quotes lately and now I found this! Häkkinen and DC are very funny of course as usual.

FIA Thursday press conference - Canada

Drivers - Adrian Sutil (Sauber), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham), Felipe Massa (Williams), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Jenson Button (McLaren)

Q: Jenson, we’ll start with you if we may. A 2011 winner here, of course, memorably, and you’re currently eighth in the championship. This circuit has the famous wall of champions on the outside of the final corner. The back of the cars this year, of these designs, is quite light. I wonder if you could a little bit about how you read the challenge of driving these cars around this track this weekend.
Jenson Button: OK. Good morning. Yeah, it’s going to be tricky here, It always is, especially with the cold circuit temperatures we’ll probably have on Friday. So yeah, the last corner will be tricky, but we’re sort of used to that I think. We’ve been driving these cars all year and if we can drive these cars around Monaco I think we’ll be alright around here. It should be an interesting circuit. It’s a circuit where you don’t really use downforce so much, it’s a lot more mechanical grip. There are long straights, so we can use the power of the engine - for us that’s great, with the Mercedes engine. And it’s about working with the tyres. I think it’s going to be tricky around here. It’s supposed to be hot on Sunday, so you’re going to have to really look after them. But we’re reasonably good at that.

Q: Talking about McLaren’s situation: how do you compare this year to last year and the competitiveness and the problems that you have? Are they more fixable than last year’s problems?
JB: Yeah, I think from the outside it doesn't look spectacular, our season this year, and you’d say it looks quite similar to last year but it’s very different. In terms of the feel of the car, it’s much better. In terms of the development of the car, it is working and we’re going in the right direction. Yeah, it’s tough. When you’ve been fighting for wins and the team is used to fighting for wins, it’s difficult when you find yourself in this situation. But also there are a lot of positives right now. With Ron back in charge, and Eric, I think they’re doing a great job of really moving the team on and changing certain things so that we will be fighting at the front again. But it just takes time. Things don’t change overnight, even though we’re pushing very hard.

Q: OK, thank you. Coming to you now Lewis. You’re a three-time winner here, three times on pole here. What is it about you and this Montreal circuit and its walls around the outside? Is it the braking? Is about technique? What is it that somehow clicks with you here?
Lewis Hamilton: I’m not sure. Good morning everyone. I guess there are certain tracks you like more than others and this is one of those circuits I particularly like. I really like coming out to Canada, I always have a great response from the fans here. It is one of the best Grands Prix of the year in terms of the turnout, the city, just in general the weekend, it’s a good fun weekend and I guess all of that packed into one makes it fun to drive.

Q: You’ve said this week that you and your team mate Nico Rosberg are friends again after Monaco. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
LH: There’s not really much to say. I said it in my message. We spoke after the race and just like friends we have our ups and down, we’ve known each other a long, long time, so it’s done and dusted and we look forward to working together to try to help this team win the constructors’ championship.

Q: OK, thank you for that. Coming on to Felipe. Three seventh-place finishes so far this season, your best result here in Montreal a fourth. Williams is tied with McLaren at the moment in the constructors’ championship with 52 points after six races. Is that in line with your expectations?
Felipe Massa: No. Definitely I think I didn’t have great results until now. It should be much better than what I had until now. So I had not very great races, starting with the race, where I didn’t get to corner two and you know in Bahrain I was fighting for third, fourth the whole race and then I lost a lot of positions because of the safety car. So I think it was not very great results but I’m sure we can do much better and I hope this track can be also a bit better for our car compared to Monaco, compared to other tracks. So really looking forward that we can have a lot better results, starting here in Montreal, a lot better than seventh I hope.

Q: I wonder if you could tell us what Rob Smedley has brought to the team, because you obviously have got a very long working relationship with him. He’s now in a senior role on the engineering side, can you tell a little bit about what he’s brought to the team?
FM: A lot of experience. A lot of good direction, different things in terms of how to work, you know, in many different areas. I think he’s a very intelligent engineer, has a lot of experience. For sure, things don’t change from one day to the other, so it takes a little bit of time but not just him, we have a lot of great engineers, a lot of good people and things are getting better all the time inside the team and I’m really looking forward that from now until the end of the of the championship things will get better and better all the time.

Q: Nico, coming to you. Fifth in the drivers’ championship and points scored in every round so far but no podium personally yet. Given the confidence that Force India has in the package for this weekend in Montreal, is this you weekend do you think?
Nico Hulkenberg: I don’t know. Obviously I hope and like every weekend we’re going to try to make the most of our chances here. I think the track should be OK for us. Also, it’s one of my favourite grands prix, so I really look forward to this weekend - the track, the city, everything is pretty cool. So hopefully we can have a strong result again.

Q: Monaco showed that you can get results by doing a different strategy from the people around you. As a midfield team I wonder, is that something you feel you need to do to get the results or do you feel you can compete with front running teams on equal terms?
NH: Not really, and I think looking back in hindsight we made it a bit harder for ourselves, starting on the harder tyre - the other way around with how it turned out, Safety Car etcetera may have been easier - but I think it’s always different and you always have to look at each race and each case and decide then but, generally, we’re having a good package, we’re competitive and that puts us in a good position in general.

Q: Kamui, you’ve twice finished in the points here in Montreal but after Marussia’s result at the last round in Monaco I wonder what the reaction was in the Caterham team? Is it encouragement that it’s possible to score points or concern about the position it leaves you in?
Kamui Kobayashi: For us the Monaco result for us was a bit of a pain but at least we know Marussia made a great step from their updates so I have to say, I think, we have to say it’s a well done job. I think for us for sure I think we need to work. I think what happened in Monaco was a little bit… strange but at least we check with the FIA and that’s through so we have nothing to say but at least we have some upgrades for that first point.

Q: So what is the way forward for the Caterham team this season?
KK: The thing about a Formula One team is we cannot change day-by-day. We progress. Of course, it’s not an easy life for us, it’s a difficult moment right now but for sure everybody is working really hard and we know, I think, that we will progress. We need a little bit of time and we are looking forward to more later on this season.

Q: Adrian, two points finishes also for you in your career here in Montreal - but still none this year for you with the Sauber team. Your thoughts on the start that the team has made and how the upgrades have worked out so far.
Adrian Sutil: Well, a difficult start of course. I thought it would be a little bit more easy but that’s how it is. That’s how our situation is. We try, of course, to get out and improve the car, improve general performance - yeah, coming here we try it again. We had a tough weekend in Monaco but I think Monaco was a little bit more on the better side, the car was behaving a little bit better and so it’s not only bad everything. There are a few positive things - but it’s very complicated to make it altogether at the moment. To understand the car is quite difficult for us still, so we have to work on that and we need a bit more time and hopefully it really goes soon in the right direction. It’s quite hard to be in the back there always, lot of problems come together in racing at the back.

Q: And tell us from your perspective what you think it will be like to race these hybrid turbo cars around this circuit - the specific challenges of this circuit?
AS: Well I think here we’re going to have quite high top speeds, with the new engines and the low drag the cars have so we should really be quick on the straights, maybe also a quicker overall lap time than last year - maybe - so I don’t know. It should be a circuit that suits the car in general. All the Formula One cars, not only us. And, as everyone said, it’s quite an enjoyable track with a lot of possibilities to overtake. The race should be quite interesting as well. Lot of chicanes… yeah, good weekend and I look forward to it, hopefully with a quite good result in the end.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes - PA) Jenson, I don’t know if you read the team’s pre-race press release this week but there were some very complimentary words from Eric Boullier with regard to yourself, taking about your quality of input, your experience, your ambassadorial role. It all sounded very positive and almost as if they’re looking to next year, perhaps wanting to keep you. Any further progress on that? As I say, it was all very complimentary towards yourself.
JB: er…no. No more progress at all. But that’s just the way it is. We’re here, we’ve spent four good years together already. In our fifth year together. And we both want to work together in the future but it’s just not time yet. Not the right time. We have a lot of other issues to solve first before we start thinking about the future too much. We’re in a good place and y’know, I think my experience does help me a lot. I still feel very young at heart, fitter than ever and I have all that experience. I’m in a great position and I feel I’ve got a lot more to give in the future in Formula One. I definitely can’t see an end to my career. This is my life and where I want to be in the future.

Q: (Bill Beacon - La Presse Canadienne) Because this track is different to most with the braking and long straights and everything, do you think that that in any way will close the gap between Mercedes and the rest of the field?
LH: I’d be guessing but I don’t feel that will be the case. We’re particularly strong on the straights, Mercedes are but I don’t know, maybe we will be surprised this weekend but long straights do suit us very well. We have a very good power curve on our engine, Mercedes have done the best job with the engines. Renault and Ferrari would have to have done an exceptional job coming into this weekend, in terms of that area, to be able to keep up with us on the straights..
FM: Definitely it can be a good track for most of the cars that are using Mercedes (engines) so I think maybe we will see even maybe a big difference compared to Mercedes and the other teams, because as Lewis said, the engine is amazing, it’s been a very good job done by Mercedes and they have a good car under braking and everything, so for sure maybe we can see maybe even a big difference.
NH: I don’t think it will be very different to the other weeks before.

Q: (Chris Medland - crash.net) Lewis, you said that the air has been cleared between yourself and Nico between races. Did you feel the need to do the same with the team and was anything different with the way the team handled the two of you between Monaco and coming here now?
LH: There was no difference. Collectively with the team... me and Nico spoke and we individually spoke to the team and saw the team. Nothing’s really changed. We know the team has done a great job in terms of supporting us and the way it’s run with Paddy and Toto. Their support for the both of us has been great. We’re now full steam ahead. We had dinner with the team yesterday and things have never been better. We’re just going from strength to strength. People have ups and downs, as I said, so it’s no different to any other experience me and Nico have had in our whole - God knows how many years we’ve been racing together. We move on, we’re pushing forward. There’s a long long way to go in the season so we’re looking forward to that battle.

Q: (Gerhard Kuntschik - Salzburger Nachrichten) Jenson, as kind of the older statesman, you raced on the old A1 Ring; we’re coming up to Austria again, Red Bull Ring, in a fortnight; what are your memories of the Austrian Grand Prix?
JB: Lots of campsites and lots of very merry Austrians over the Grand Prix weekend. It’s one of those races that they really embrace the sort of party scene and the camping scene, which is really cool. It reminds me very much of Spa, British Grand Prix and those sort of races. It’s a true racing fan’s Grand Prix, I feel. The circuit itself... you look at it and you think ‘there’s like seven corners, it can’t be that fun to drive.’ But it is, it’s a really good circuit. I’ve enjoyed racing there in the past, I don’t know what it’s going to be like with these cars. I’ve always had fun racing there. I don’t know how much has changed, either. Turn one, we used to drive off through the gravel because that was the quickest way on the exit. I’m sure it’s not going to be the case anymore. I think we’re in for a good Grand Prix.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos - Racing Magazine) To all drivers: the World Cup is coming and your countries are going to be there, playing, so on a personal note, how much are you interested in football? Are you going to follow all the matches or you don’t care much about what’s going on there? And a second brief question: who do you think is going to win the World Cup? Kamui, would you like to kick us off?
KK: Me? On soccer? I don’t really care so I don’t follow anything. All I know is that Japan is not really strong so I don’t...
NH: Well I hope that Gemany is going to be good but I’m not a football expert but I’m sure I’m going to be behind the TV following the World Cup.
AS: I’ll be watching, cheering for Uruguay and Germany, because I’m half Uruguayan.
FM: Yeah, I love football, I watch everything, so I will maybe be watching most of the games. I really hope that Brazil can be there in the final. To win the championship at home would be fantastic so I will be there watching and supporting Brazil.
LH: I don’t follow it as much (as I used to) but I will probably catch a few games and I want to try and see if we can go out to one of the games at least. The dream will be to go and watch Brazil and England play, that would be pretty awesome.
JB: Yes, I totally agree. I’m not a massive football fan, I don’t support a team but when it comes to nationalities, countries playing, obviously I will be supporting England and I’m really looking forward to it.

(source: f1.com)

2014 Canadian Grand Prix preview

Are you ready for the Canadian Grand Prix? I know I am! Can't wait to see what the Mercedes drivers argue about in this race. Maybe if Lewis Hamilton wins then everything will be ok but if Nico Rosberg wins it will be a much darker sight. 

Make sure to check Hamilton's face if this happens. He will have a fake smile on his face like last time. Rosberg probably will have a fake smile too but at least his expression won't look as obvious. That's one thing Hamilton should work on. Rosberg on the other hand should work on being a better driver than Hamilton.

Even though I probably like Rosberg more as a person I must say that I think Hamilton is a better driver. Don't take this the wrong way! I don't hate Hamilton and Rosberg is also a very good driver. This is just if I had to take a pick.

What about the previous races in Canada? This is actually the place where Hamilton took his first victory back in 2007. I remember people saying that Hamilton was leading the championship because he had better consistent results than Alonso, Räikkönen and Massa. The three other "better" drivers had won races but Hamilton was still leading the championship with podium finishes (2nds and 3rds). Then in Canada he showed everybody that he is a superstar who is also able to win races. He also won the race after that in the US.

The same race in 2007 was also the race where Robert Kubica had his terrible accident. The following year he won the race. 
Here's a video of the accident:



What else has happened in Canada? In 2011 Canada offered us the longest F1 race in history (4:04:39.537). Sebastian Vettel was leading the race from the start till the last few laps and made a small mistake. Jenson Button was behind and overtook him right away and won the race. He was waiting the whole day for Vettel to make a mistake and he finally did. Sebastian Vettel was soooo frustrated...



Speaking of frustrated who remembers what happened in 1991? Nigel Mansell was about to win the race and was already waving to the crowd on the last lap but then his car broke down. Nelson Piquet was behind him and won the race for Benetton.



I have always enjoyed the Canadian Grand Prix and will probably enjoy this one as well.


Then it's time for my predictions again!

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hmilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

Surprise: McLaren will show some improvement in Canada.

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes.

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps.

THIS TIME YOU ALSO GET BONUS POINTS! PREDICT POLE POSITION AND FASTEST LAP CORRECTLY TO EARN 2 EXTRA POINTS!

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix preview

SEPANG, Malaysia - The official F1 page has predicted rain for the weekend.

We have seen the first race of the season and now it's time for the second GP-preview!

Sepang has become a very legendary track over the years.

Remember when Mika Häkkinen chased the Ferraris of Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher in the first race back in 1999? The Ferraris were dominating the race and Häkkinen was just barely behind them. After the race Häkkinen sat down on the podium because he was about to pass out. He said that it felt impossible to win them.

Later they found out that Ferrari was using illegal wings on the cars. The FIA said that they can't use them anymore but didn't give Ferrari a penalty. Maybe because that would have decided the championship as well? Häkkinen would have won Irvine in the championship with over 10 points before the last race.

In 2003 Renault showed their claws for the first time since the 80's by taking 1st and 2nd in the qualifying (Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli). It was also Alonso's first pole position.
Unfortunately for Alonso's sake he didn't finish first in the race. He took the third place which was his first ever podium in F1.

The hero of the very wet Malaysian Grand Prix in 2003 was in fact not Alonso but Kimi Räikkönen. He took his first ever victory and smiled more than he did when he won the championship in 2007.




I would also like to mention the shortest Malaysian Grand Prix in history: The 2009 Malaysian GP that lasted for 55 minutes. It was stopped with red flags because of the weather and it never continued. Jenson Button won that race with Brawn GP (now Mercedes GP).




Then I must mention the race from last year. WHAT? YOU FORGOT ALREADY? Let me give you a hint......


MULTI -21



Mark Webber decided to leave Red Bull and Formula One because of this race and Sebastian Vettel got even more haters than he already had. He ignored the team orders and put himself above the team.


So who has been most successful in Malaysia of the current drivers?

Podiums:

1. Fernando Alonso - 5 (1st x 3, 2nd x 1, 3rd x 1)
2. Jenson Button - 4 (1st x 1, 2nd x 1, 3rd x 2)
3. Sebastian Vettel - 3 (1st x 3)
4. Kimi Räikkönen - 3 (1st x 2, 3rd x 1)
5. Lewis Hamilton - 3 (2nd x 1, 3rd x 2)
6. Sergio Perez - 1 (2nd x 1)
7. Nico Rosberg - 1 (2nd x 1)

Let's also keep in mind that Button has been in F1 since the year 2000, Alonso and Räikkönen since 2001 (Alonso didn't compete in 2002 and Kimi didn't compete in 2010-2011), Rosberg since 2006, Hamilton and Vettel since 2007 and Perez since 2011.

The official Formula One page has stated that it will rain in Malaysia so that might get a bit confusing again when I have to guess the results! I'll give it a try.

Pole Position: Kevin Magnussen

The race:

1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Valtteri Bottas

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg

Surprise: Ferrari - They will be much better this weekend!

That was it for today. I'll see you guys around on the Facebook page ;) One more thing.....

Comparing the 2014 teammates: McLaren

In the previous "comparing the teammates"-post I promised to compare the McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

Previously I have written about the teammates of Ferrari, Lotus, Red Bull, Force India, Mercedes, Sauber, Williams and Marussia.

If you haven't read them then just click on the links below:

http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/11/comparing-2014-teammates-scuderia.html
http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/12/comparing-2014-teammates-red-bull-racing.html
http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/12/comparing-2014-teammates-lotus.html
http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/12/comparing-2014-teammates-force-india.html
http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/02/comparing-2014-teammates-mercedes.html?spref=fb
http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/02/comparing-2014-teammates-sauber.html?spref=fb
http://www.f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/02/comparing-2014-teammates-williams.html
http://www.f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/02/comparing-2014-teammates-marussia.html

This time I have a very experienced driver, who is also the 2009 world champion, and then we have a rookie.

There isn't much to say about Kevin Magnussen. All I know about him is that his father was also in F1 (Jan Magnussen) and that he is the 2013 champion of the "World Series by Renault".

Magnussen drove very well in the tests in Jerez but what can you say based on a test session? Not much.

I will continue by listing Jenson Button's teammates and how he competed against them. First the year, then the teammate and after that info etc. Let's begin..

2000 - Ralf Schumacher. His first teammate was hard to beat because Ralf was at his best at the time. He was also the younger brother of the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher. Ralf got twice the amount of points than Jenson (24-12).

2001 - Giancarlo Fisichella. 8-2! That was the score between Fisi and Jenson at Benetton. It looked like Jenson's career was going backwards.

2002 - Jarno Trulli. This year Benetton became Renault and Button became a better driver! He won his more experienced teammate by 5 points. Button was 7th in the championship which was his best yet. Trulli was 8th that year.

2003 - Jaques Villeneuve and Takuma Sato. At BAR Honda Jenson had to fight against a former world champion. So how did it go? He got more points than his two teammates combined. Sato drove for only one race but still got a 6th place which was also Villeneuve's best result that year. 

2004 - Takuma Sato. Button was clearly the better driver and got the number one driver treatment from his team. This was Button's best season yet when he was 3rd in the championship. The only ones in front of him were the unstoppable Ferrari's driven by Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

2005 - Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. This year the BAR Honda was illegal and was excluded from 2 races and disqualified from 1. Sato was also disqualified from one more race but Button wasn't. If we look at the points that they managed to get then Button won them both again. He got 37 points when his teammates got only 1 single point combined (Davidson didn't get a single point).

2006 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the team became Honda and Barrichello joined them from Ferrari. Button took his first ever victory in Hungary and was 6th in the championship. Barrichello was right behind in 7th place but had over 20points less than Button.

2007 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the car was just awful! Button was 15th in the standings and Barrichello didn't score one single point and was 20th.

2008 - Rubens Barrichello. This time Barrichello got 11 points and Button only 3. Well.. at least he got 3 points instead of no points. Barrichello was 14th in the standings and Button was 18th.

2009 - Rubens Barrichello. This year Button won the world championship with Brawn GP which had been Honda and BAR Honda earlier. The score was 95-77 between him and his teammate. 

2010 - Lewis Hamilton. The 2009 world champion joined McLaren as the 2008 world champion's teammate. People were sure that Jenson had no chance against Lewis but made everybody shut up by winning a race before him. In the end the score was 240-214 between the two of them which ment that Lewis was better (as the press had predicted).

2011 - Lewis Hamilton. This time Jenson was hungry to beat his teammate and did just that with a score of 270-227. Button was runner up in the championship and Hamilton was 5th.

2012 - Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton's last year with McLaren and also the deciding year; who was better Hamilton or Button? Hamilton won 4 races and Button 3. If we look at the points it was 190-188 between them. Very close but Hamilton won with two points.

2013 - Sergio Perez. This teammate couldn't really fight against Button. He had his moments but usually he was just overdoing everything. He crashed into people and he missed braking points. At the end of the season the score was 73-49 with Button on the 9th place and Perez on the 11th. McLaren didn't wanna continue his contract and signed Magnussen for 2014.

I guess Magnussen is like Button's apprentice this year. If he get's a shot in 2015 he might be much better. If he beats Button on his first season, it will be the end of Jenson Button's career and reputation. Magnussen on the other hand will get a lot of respect!

Tomorrow I am going to compare the Caterham drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson.

Some more Tooned videos done together with Mobil1

Tooned 50: Episode 3 - The Emerson Fittipaldi Story

I have totally forgotten to post the Emerson Fittipaldi -episode. Well.. here it is!

And here's a small bonus video for you:

Tooned 50: Episode 5 - The Alain Prost Story

Tooned 50: Episode 4 - The James Hunt Story

So now it's James Hunt's turn. Funny how this episode came out the same time as the movie Rush has come out..

Some more of McLaren Tooned and Mobil1

Tooned50 - Episode 3

The newest episode is here! Click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8eQ9wMaO9I

Jenson Button on the Jonathan Ross show

Click on this link and start viewing the video from YouTube: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_DOQfG2ucA

Jenson Button interview about the 2012 season

Jenson Button talks about the 2012 season, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

Jenson Button on Top Gear in 2006

This is the only Jenson Button on Top Gear video I found on YouTube and unfortunately it stops BEFORE you hear his lap time. But anyways, if you want to see this anyway then here it is.

They talk on the show about why Jenson hasn't won a GP etc. In the picture above you can see him winning his first victory a few months after the show.