The curious case of Jenson Button

Never mind the yacht in Monaco or the model girlfriend; you didn't want to be Jenson Button in 2008. Having spent years propped up as the big British hope in Formula One, a luckless Button had seen his spot as the pre-eminent British F1 driver snatched by world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2007, popstar girlfriend-in-tow; Honda were pulling the plug on their F1 campaign, leaving Button without a car for the 2009 season. At 28, he was too old and too slow to be a contender anymore. Formula One had found its Tim Henman.

But just as Button was about to get his send-off into motorsport oblivion, he did the unthinkable. As can only happen in sport, Button staged one of F1's biggest comebacks when Honda F1 Racing team principal Ross Brawn performed an 11th hour resurrection of BrawnGP from the ashes of the Honda F1 team. When the white-liveried, logo-free, Mercedes-engined BrawnGP cars were first spotted during pre-season testing, there were murmurs that the Brackley-based team had developed a fast car.

Even when Button stormed to victory at the Melbourne season-opener last March there were sniggers that this was going to be a one-off win. After that to go on to win six of the first seven races in 2009 was just phenomenal driving. Yes BrawnGP had genuine pace, but someone still had to drive it past the finish line faster than the Ferraris, the Renaults and the McLarens.

ONCE TALENTED

Few will remember that Button was only 20 when he debuted for Williams' F1 team in 2000. His reputation as a boy-genius on the karting circuit had attracted the attention of top-flight British F1 teams, prompting Sir Frank Williams to pluck Button from the F3 circuit to test for Williams. His first season in 2000, by rookie standards, was a good one - his best finish was a fourth place at the German GP before ending the season in eighth position. A fresh-faced, eager-eyed Button was soon the toast of the British press, which was looking for a new F1 hero after Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. He was the youngest to score points in an F1 race when finishing sixth at the Brazilian GP, a record that stood till Sebastian Vettel scored an eighth-place finish at the 2007 US Grand Prix.

He could have gone anywhere from that first season, but Button seemed to consistently find himself in cars that were not competitive enough. In the six seasons between 2003 and 2008, he had 25 retirements, that's an average of more than four races every season when he didn't finish a race because of mechanical gremlins. Also, his reputation for partying hard and contract wrangles with Williams and Benetton did nothing for his career.

He finished third in the driver's championship in 2004, a year that he was dominated by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. It took him six years and 113 starts to win his first Grand Prix in 2006 in Hungary. He managed a third in the Brazilian Grand Prix, and that was the last time we saw him on the podium until the start of this season.

THAT MANSELL QUOTE

Though Button-bashing was cool in 2007 and 2008 - he was that over-rated driver with the playboy lifestyle - Nigel Mansell is probably wishing he could eat his words now. The former F1 champion went on record saying Button was no longer a serious contender for the driver's championship. "Jenson should have won more races, he has under-performed and that is down to him," Mansell told BBC Sport. "He had the opportunity and he didn't take it; there won't be any more."

Ironically, when Button won the Monaco GP this year, his tally of six wins from seven races was the third best start of a season by a driver. Only Michael Schumacher (in 1994) and Mansell himself (in 1992) have had better starts - they both chalked up five victories and a second place from the first six races.

UNLIKELY HERO

Irrespective of how things go down in Abu Dhabi on November 1, this season has been a strange one for F1 fans used to that familiar two-way tussle between McLaren and Ferrari. The driver's championship was led, not by Hamilton, Raikkonen or Alonso, but by Button, and for most of the year the championship has been a face-off between two unglamorous teams - BrawnGP and Red Bull Racing. Most fans want to fast-forward to the new season already when double world champion Alonso moves to Ferrari and resumes his rivalry with McLaren's Hamilton and Raikkonen.

But Button, despite his roaring form at the start of the season, still remains an unlikely F1 contender. Even as late as September, with five races to go and a 16-point lead over his nearest rival Rubens Barrichello, there were many who felt that he would choke under pressure. Red Bull principal Christian Horner even compared him to Stuart Pearce, the English footballer who famously missed the semi-final penalty against Germany in the 1990 World Cup.

"He's tightened up. At the moment he's like Stuart Pearce taking a penalty. If it came down to an out-and-out mental battle, I would not count on Jenson winning," said Horner. Red Bull Racing's Vettel is the only driver after Barrichello who can now reel Button in.

It might go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi on November 1. If Button fails, it will have to be considered the biggest blow-out in F1 history. But if he wins, it could well be the revival of the Jenson Button media circus. Either way, he remains the biggest newsmaker in sport this year. At least Henman would approve.

ON THE BUTTON

1) Brazilian Grand Prix, 2000
A rookie Button qualified sixth and scored his first points when he finished in sixth place. Not before he executed a stunning overtaking manoeuvre past Jos Verstappen on lap 57.

2) Hungarian Grand Prix, 2006
His first Grand Prix title and it took him 113 starts to get it. Button qualified 14th, but some inspired driving moved him up the field, and once race leaders Raikkonen and Alonso crashed out, it was Button all the way.

3) Brazilian Grand Prix, 2006
Button moved up the field from 14th to finish in third place in Schumi's last race. So Button gets no press, Massa wins the race and Alonso gets his world championship title.

4) Australian Grand Prix, 2009
Button grabbed pole and then scored a debut victory for Brawn after leading the race from start to finish. The big comeback had been initiated.

5) Japanese Grand Prix, 2009
When Button was docked five spots for speeding during qualifying, many felt that Button had thrown away his championship hopes. He made his way from 12th place to 8th on an extremely narrow track to keep his title hopes alive.