British ace expecting far better in 2008 as he eyes a futre title tilt with Honda.
Jenson Button has sent out a message to his Honda team that he expects nothing less than to be able to challenge for both victories and the world championship with them in the future, after a torrid 2007 that saw him notch up just six points, considerably worse than the 56 he had tallied the previous season.
Not only was the 28-year-old forced to endure a hopelessly competitive car last year, he also had to suffer the ignominy of being supplanted as Britain's foremost hope for glory by McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton - and all this having headed into the campaign on the back of his breakthrough grand prix success in Hungary in 2006 and evidently hungry for more. He is adamant he will not tolerate such a chronic lack of performance again.
"Points unless you're winning or challenging for the championship make no difference at all," Button stressed following the launch of the Brackley-based outfit's new RA108, the machine it hopes will erase the bad memories created by its unloved predecessor. "For me, the important thing is to see improvements throughout the season, and they will come I'm sure.
"I'm not just talking about a couple of tenths; we need to make a big improvement throughout the year - our last race should be our best. We need to hope that we're competitive and that we're going to improve race-by-race, not just against ourselves but against our competitors."
That ambition, he is confident, will be immeasurably aided by the appointment last November of strategic genius Ross Brawn in the role of team principal, the former Ferrari technical director taking over from Nick Fry, who had occupied the position since the end of 2004. Button was effusive in his praise for what Brawn had brought to Honda so far.
"We had a rubbish season," he acknowledged, "and a lot of us realised something needed to change - and there you go, Ross Brawn, and a lot of other very good technical people. We have made some massive changes, and that gives me a big buzz for sure.
"We're not going to go to the first race and be really, really quick - it doesn't happen like that; it does take time for everything to fit together and move forward - but we do understand the way this car works, and everyone is working really well together. It's going to take time but we will definitely get there, 100 per cent.
"The buzz within the team is so big now after Ross' signing and that of a lot of the other talented people who have come to the team. They really realise how serious Honda are and how much they want this - that's the great thing. It's a great atmosphere, and that's something we have that maybe some other teams don't have."
In evidence of that, Button pointed to the experience of Hamilton last year, after his compatriot had led the away for the majority of the season and entered the final two grands prix with a commanding points advantage, only to lose out on the laurels in the very last race in Brazil. Should he one day find himself in a similar title-challenging position, the Frome ace argued, he was confident the same outcome would not be the case.
"Lewis got very close to winning the world championship last year and missed it by one point," he stated, "which I'm sure he's kicking himself about. To get so close in your first season and then not win it must be devastating, but he's got a lot of years in front of him and he's with a good team; it's just whether they can be quick enough to challenge Ferrari this year. We'll have to wait and see.
"For sure there are a lot of very talented drivers in Formula 1 and Lewis is one of them, but some of it is also where you're placed, and everything needs to be 100 per cent and perfect within the team for you to become world champion. I think at Ferrari, the atmosphere within the team was maybe better last year [than at McLaren]; they seemed to have everything, and when it came to the last few races they were very competitive. Maybe it wasn't the same at McLaren, I don't know.
"It's great to have a fast car, but you need everything else as well. When we get to the front and have a race-challenging car, we will have everything in the background that we need to challenge for the championship."
