Except that the man alongside him next year is not an experienced driver like
Rubens Barrichello or Hamilton. Pérez is a gamble on McLaren’s part; a raw,
young talent. Ferrari, who had access to all the Mexican’s telemetry, all
his simulator times, were so confident their academy product was not the man
to replace Felipe Massa they allowed him to walk away to their bitter rivals.
Button professes to be unconcerned by his future team-mate’s lack of
experience. “Having just one experienced person in the team does change
things but [leading a team] is something I love,” he said of the extra
responsibility.
There is a bit of revisionism going on here. In Singapore, discussing
Hamilton’s potential departure, Button said he wanted a “quick and
experienced driver” alongside him in the event that his team-mate left since
two experienced guys driving the car’s development were better than one. Now
he is happy to be racing alongside a young thruster like Pérez?
“His input will be important because he has come from another team,” Button
said. “It helps to have someone come in with fresh ideas.
“I also love sombreros and, for me, that is key,” Button added, tongue in
cheek. “When Martin [Whitmarsh, McLaren’s team principal] told me Pérez was
coming, it made me smile because I love margaritas and sombreros. There is a
good picture of me somewhere wearing a sombrero and not much else.”
The truth is, there will be more pressure on Button to deliver next year but
there is no reason to doubt that he can do so. When Button moved to McLaren
from Brawn, Sir Jackie Stewart likened it to entering the “lion’s den”.
Button has seen off the lion and made himself at home.
He is more calculating that his relaxed public persona suggests. Button spoke
approvingly last night of Fernando Alonso’s success in making Ferrari his
own. In a telling aside, he admitted he had imagined arriving at Maranello
as a new driver and the Spaniard being all smiles, only for him to start
speaking to the engineers in Italian and cracking inside jokes.
“You would be, like ‘what did he just say? Did he just say something about me?’
“But that is fine,” Button hastened to add. “That is what you have to do. This
is a competition on and off the track.”
Button was too polite to say whether the success with which he had integrated
into the McLaren set-up had played any role Hamilton’s departure but there
is no doubt he is the leading man now. And that is the way he will want to
keep it.
So how does he assess the challenge from his new team-mate? “I’m not
underestimating [Pérez],” he said. “He is inexperienced compared with Lewis
and it will be his first year, but he will still be quick. There should be
more consistency in his speed the following year but I will definitely be
the person McLaren turn to if they want a world champion next year.”
And if he is beaten? “I would take my hat off to him. Because I’m not going to
do a s— job next year.”