Team boss says 2009 champion's relaxed demeanour is deceptive
Last Updated: November 9, 2011 1:04pm
Appearances are deceptive: Whitmarsh and Button
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said he is "delighted" by the strong form shown by Jenson Button this season.
Button became Whitmarsh's first signing as team boss at the end of 2009 when, having won the world championship with Brawn GP, he teamed up with Lewis Hamilton. He has since gone on to defy expectations that he might struggle in Hamilton's shadow and having won three races to date this season, Button currently leads the 2008 champion in the standings with two races, including this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, left.
"I think a lot of people underestimated Jenson, a lot of people thought he was making a mistake to pitch himself head-to-head against Lewis and I think he did a great job last year and he's done an outstanding job and therefore I'm delighted," Whitmarsh said in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Phone-In on Wednesday.
"He's someone who is very, very bright, he's very relaxed in himself and I think that deceives people into believing that he's not hungry for success."
Backing
Whitmarsh, who also serves as chairman of the Formula One Teams' Association, also gave his backing to FOTA's 'Resource Restriction Agreement' the future of which is up for discussion at the Yas Marina circuit.
The agreement was introduced in 2009 as a way of cutting costs but its policing has come under scrutiny, with Ferrari recently calling both the RRA and FOTA itself into question.
Whitmarsh said a primary objective of FOTA was to support smaller teams, but added that their survival was best secured via technical partnerships with established outfits rather than the use of customer cars.
The latter are currently illegal in F1 but Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo spoke out in favour of them at the weekend. McLaren themselves have technical partnerships with both Force India and Marussia/Virgin.
"We shouldn't underestimate how hard it is for the smaller teams. It's fine for some of the bigger teams who feel quite confident about their future, but the fact is we need 10 or 12 teams in the sport," Whitmarsh said.
"I personally think that to generate grid size with three-car teams...I understand why some people are attracted to that. If it was necessary it has some interest for McLaren, but I think for Formula One it's the wrong solution. F1 requires the diversity of entry."
Whitmarsh also denied Di Montezemolo's claim that F1 did not do enough to promote road car technology, saying that new rules to be introduced in 2014 will do just that. He also backed F1's emphasis on aerodynamics, which Di Montezemolo said were of unnecessary importance.
Relevant
"We have to be relevant to the automotive sector and we have to be seen as socially relevant. In 2014 we're introducing downsized turbocharged engines which I think are socially relevant, some interesting further KERS technology which of course we already have," Whitmarsh said.
"I think there's always going to be a debate about aerodynamics but the fact is that it is a large performance differentiator. In some areas it may not be strictly relevant to the automotive sector but I think it creates a fan interest... the debates and sometimes controversies that surround the innovative and novel aerodynamic features are very evident," he added.
Credit: Sky Sports (www.skysports.com)
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