It’s an opportunity to listen to the audio of the media group interviews conducted yesterday with Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Martin Whitmarsh.

Hamilton speaks about what he’s been doing over the winter, his 2011 season to forget and his hopes for the year. He also speaks about how it feels to be getting older as a driver, now 27 years of age.

Button speaks about his feelings about the competition, particularly the thrill of being one of a record 6 world champions in the F1 field.

Whitmarsh talks about the challenges of clawing back the performance lost from the banning of the blown diffusers and the team’s chances of beating Red Bull this year.

Lewis Hamilton

Jenson Button

Martin Whitmarsh

One is about team mate Jenson Button, the other on Felipe Massa.

On Button he says, “Jenson is very fast and has built around himself a very strong team of technicians. I always want to beat him and I’m never happy if I don’t. But psychologically I don’t see it as a problem. He’s an open person who you can get along with.

“It would be great to fight with him for the world title in 2012, it just depends on the McLaren car.”

This is interesting in that Hamilton highlights the way that Button has integrated himself into the McLaren team and made sure to build around him the team he needs. Having the support network around you in a team is such an important part of doing well in F1.

Both men sent out Christmas cards this year and the difference in them was quiet striking; Button’s was a jokey photo of himself in the cockpit of his car surrounded by this “team of technicians”, engineers and mechanics, all wearing santa hats and pulling faces.

Hamilton’s was a simple shot of him driving his car at high speed. (McLaren’s incidentally, was a very even handed shot of the two cars side by side, racing on snow)

Although a trivial point it says something about what both wanted to say about themselves at the end of 2011.

Both men had new engineers, incidentally, last season. For 2012 the track operations side will be overseen by Sam Michael, so it will be very interesting to see what changes he makes and how the two drivers operate when seeking to get the best support for themselves.

Hamilton says that the Red Bull will be the car to beat but adds that “the new McLaren seems far superior to last year’s car.”

On Massa, with whom Hamilton had several run-ins last season, he says, “We often found ourselves close together and Massa is a difficult driver to pass because he never gives you any room. But it’s not something to over-dramatize. I have nothing against him.”

To say that another driver doesn’t give you any room, isn’t to accuse him of anything, but it does imply that he doesn’t race fairly. This was a real talking point in 2011, with Michael Schumacher also on the limit of what was correct when covering a position in a battle. And it’s likely to be a talking point again this year as the DRS wing and Pirelli short life tyres create an increasing number of overtaking opportunities.

Yesterday the FIA issued the final technical and sporting regulations for the 2012 F1 season and there is a change of wording about what is permissible when defending a line into a corner.

“More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted,” says article 20.3. “Any driver moving back towards the racing line, having earlier defended his position off‐line, should leave at least one car width between his own car and the edge of the track on the approach to the corner.”

In other words, as the edge of the track on the entry to the corner is usually where the racing line is to be found, the driver defending cannot move back fully onto the racing line once he’s covered off a dive down the inside.

This is likely to still be problematic this season as we have seen time and again that definitions and interpretations can vary. Judging what constitutes a car’s width when moving sideways, looking in the mirrors and braking from 200 mph for a corner isn’t always going to be clear cut.

It does give the stewards some clear guidelines to work to, but what will be needed in 2012 is consistency from the stewards in applying the rule. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

Hamilton had the edge during the first two thirds of the season then Button got in front at the Belgian Grand Prix and since then his run of podiums and a win in Japan have eased him clear, while Hamilton has been involved in collisions and hasn’t hauled in the points.

Hamilton, who has never been beaten by a team mate in a championship before, this weekend dismissed team boss Martin Whitmarsh’s suggestion that Button’s form was unsettling him as “rubbish”. (see separate story below)

So can he claw back the gap? Or will Button extend it? There are a maximum 50 points on the table for the final two races. You get 18pts for second place in a Grand Prix and 15pts for third place.

Put your predictions in the comments section below:
1. The order they will finish in
2. The points gap between them

The competition closes at midnight UK time on 26th November. The first registered correct answer will win a full size official cinema poster of the Senna movie – not easy to come by. The movie is now out on DVD and Blu ray.

Here in the Yas Marina paddock yesterday Hamilton offered a window in to his troubled soul, confirming many of the things commentators have been saying for months about the effect his private life have had on his professional life. He explains some of how he is feeling. He envies team mate Jenson Button’s protective “bubble” of friends and family and faces the prospect of being beaten by a team mate for the first time in a championship season.

After the Indian GP McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said that he felt part of the reason Hamilton’s head was elsewhere was that he was being beaten by his team mate Jenson Button. That seemed a surprising thing for him to say, not the arm “around the shoulder” approach team bosses normally take when their driver is struggling.

Hamilton dismissed Whitmarsh’s comments as “rubbish” and explained how he is really feeling,

“He made some comments which I disagree with,” said Hamilton. “It’s rubbish. My issues have been much, much bigger than that – more personal. Jenson doing great is great for the team.

“Jenson has done a great job to get things in the right place. He’s got his Dad, who’s there at every single race, he’s got his manager, he’s got his friends and his girlfriend there all the time. He’s got a great bubble around him and with that he’s able to go out there and perform without any worries on his mind.

“Jenson’s in a much stronger position than me so I wouldn’t expect anything less than the results he’s been getting. But that’s not affecting the way I’m performing.”

Every driver is different; some need an emotional life support system around them, others, like Robert Kubica, are more self contained and need just a manager by their side.

Sebastian Vettel is a bit like that; he has his trainer Tommy and his father Norbert is around but very low key in the background.

Most people don’t take their parents or wife to the office, but in a sports context, whatever makes you perform is the right set up. It’s an important thing to get right, because a driver has to focus on getting the maximum from himself throughout a race weekend and he needs his life to be in balance to achieve that.

I remember seeing Jacques Villeneuve having a blazing row with his girlfriend minutes before qualifying for the Argentinian Grand Prix in 1997.

“They (relationships) affect everything you do, the things you say, the way you act, the groove you get into,” admitted Hamilton.

“It’s not an excuse it’s just the way things have gone. I feel quite confident that I know the right direction for next year and how I can get things better – it’s just about doing it. I don’t plan on being single for very long. It’s nothing to do with being single or not being single. When I was in my relationship she was probably the most positive thing that was in my life – and maybe that needs to be back there.

“I’ve just been a bit unfortunate and I’ve got my own problems. I lost that bubble. It is a priority for me to create that atmosphere around myself because it’s a happy bubble.”

“Lewis will be feeling under pressure because of the great performances from Jenson at the moment, ” said Whitmarsh.

“Lewis, the great, exciting driver that he is, will not like being beaten by Jenson. I don’t want him to enjoy being beaten by his team-mate. I want him to try to beat Jenson, just as I want Jenson to try to beat Lewis.”

Seasoned human behaviour watchers within F1 will find these comments interesting. Whitmarsh didn’t need to say them, but there comes a point – and perhaps we are there now with Button 38 points clear of Hamilton with a maximum 50 available – when the question of Button’s effect on Hamilton becomes unavoidable.

Button has beaten Hamilton in four of the last six races where both have finished. Many people, including myself, thought Button was making a mistake when he went to McLaren in the winter of 2009, as Hamilton seemed clearly the faster of the two.

He still is, but this season, it’s not made any difference. Button has done a tremendous job; not always that fast in qualifying, but always able to make the most of the McLaren package in race conditions and his three wins and seven podiums from 13 races he has finished speak of a consistency at a high level.

That Hamilton is having a tough year for all sorts of reasons, mainly personal, is undisputed. But the notion that Button is considered inside McLaren to be beating him – rather than picking up better results because Hamilton has been involved in collisions, which have knocked him back – is interesting. And even more interesting is the idea that this is getting to the younger man.

In qualifying Hamilton leads 12-6 (although in India he then had a three place penalty) and has the team’s only pole of the year.

It was not hard to conclude from this weekend that Hamilton can’t wait for this season to end, just as Vettel and Button don’t want it ever to end. Such is sport.

Button went through a tough couple of years in his mid 20s where things weren’t going right for him and the hassles of life as an F1 driver outweighed the pleasures.

After an adolescence spent dedicated to racing karts, Hamilton is doing his growing up in public. We’ve seen it before many times with young sportsmen.

We’ve all been through the disruptive girlfriend phase, we’ve all made mistakes. He is doing through it in the public gaze and without his father by his side as a steadying influence.

Anthony Hamilton pushed his son very hard in the first years in F1 because that’s the way they’d always worked and it had got them to that point. Wanting to be free of that to take his own path, Lewis went his own way and now has no steadying influence to turn to.

Interestingly, Anthony gave an interview to Indian media outlet First Post Sports at the weekend in which he said,

“Sometimes people like to cause you a little bit of grief but at the end of the day we all have problems in our lives. For example, I have been married twice and I have had some really bad days, when I am working but I had issues on my mind. It is the same with Lewis and any other F1 driver in the paddock.”

Also the superiority of the Red Bull/Vettel package has to be bringing him down. Vettel notched up 27 pole positions and 21 wins at the weekend. In the 27 races between Hamilton’s last pole (Korea) and the previous one (Canada 2010) Vettel had pole 19 times.

How to break that cycle? When was the last time McLaren had a dominant car? What are the chances of them having one next season?

This, as much as any notion of Button “beating” him, must be preying on Hamilton’s mind as he contemplates a long break from anything to do with F1 this winter.

* One final note: my take on the collision yesterday between Hamilton and Massa was that, as Massa said, he braked later than Hamilton on the grippy racing line, which is why you see him surge ahead half a car length just before he turns in. He told us yesterday evening he knew that Hamilton was inside before he braked and his mistake therefore was thinking that by braking later he’d got far enough ahead to turn in.

Compare this to the various battles Alonso and Webber have had lately, including in the opening laps on Sunday. Every time they try to pass they give each other room and that’s what Massa should have done in this incident. To turn in as he did, he knew that a collision was almost certain and that’s why he got a penalty.

Alonso and Webber respect each other and therefore do not collide. You can fill in the gaps for yourself.

So for example if you think that Jenson Button will finish ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 4 seconds use the comments box below and write “Button by 4 secs”. Or you could predict that one will finish and the other won’t. It’s up to you. Only one entry per person, however and we won’t accept entries once the cars go to the grid.

Button has finished ahead of Hamilton in the last five Grands Prix. But will this be the weekend when Hamilton gets back the supremacy? The McLaren has been pretty competitive lately, as it was in Senna’s day!

The first four registered entries which are correct or nearest to the actual time gap between the pair at the end of Sunday’s race, will win a fantastic package of a Senna movie poster, signed and personalised by the film’s writer Manish Pandey and director Asif Kapadia and a copy of the DVD. Note: The DVDs are UK format.

The Senna DVD has been a smash hit since its launch on Monday and has sold more than 100,000 copies over the counter already. It is also at the top of the charts on both Itunes and Amazon. The figures are way ahead of expectations, to the point where it is up there with the best DVD sales records seen in the UK in recent years, according to the producers.

If you miss out on the prize or if you want to be sure to get a copy of the DVD, you can always buy one from our store at Senna DVD

“To win the championship here is fantastic,” said an emotional Vettel. “I’m so thankful to everyone in the team, working day in and day out pushing hard. We found ourselves in a strong position and it’s great to achieve our goals. This year we have always been one step ahead. There is no secret, it’s step by step. The hardest thing is winning after winning, to go out and do it again. I needed all the support from the team, from Mark everyone working for me.”

The top four cars finished just 8 seconds apart at the end. The race was won with some style by Jenson Button, his 12th Grand Prix victory. Button was the only driver able to match Vettel’s pace in the early stages and who took advantage of some rather conservative strategy by Red Bull which was designed to ensure Vettel got a podium rather than push the limits in search of the race win as well.

Vettel had said before the race that he was going to “go for glory” in the race, to clinch the title in style. It didn’t work out that way, but they had a bigger prize in sight.

Alonso also took advantage of this conservatism to jump Vettel at the third pit stop for second place.

It was Button’s fifth win with McLaren, the first in fully dry conditions and surely one of his best. He extended his lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton in the championship to 32 points.

“This circuit is very special. We love this place so to get a victory here does mean a lot,” said Button.

Strategy was critical and pre-race predictions from Pirelli suggested that the soft tyres were degrading at around 0.2 secs per lap and it was felt that some cars starting the race on used soft tyres could be pitting as early as lap 7 or 8. The strategy engineers were very much playing a watching and waiting game.

Nevertheless many of the cars outside the top six who had the choice of tyre at the start went for the soft tyres too.

At start Vettel pushed fellow front row starter Jenson Button onto the grass in an uncompromising move which forced Button to back out of the throttle. This allowed Hamilton to pass him around the outside for second place.

The stewards looked into it but decided not to give him a penalty. However in the cool down room before the podium Button picked him up on it saying, “Is this how we’re racing now then?” Vettel did not respond.

Paul Di Resta got a good start from 12th up to 8th, Sutil gained two places from 11th to 9th. While Kobayashi lost four places, to the disappointment of the crowd.

Vettel settled into his usual rhythm early on, opening a gap over Hamilton, while on lap 6 Alonso sailed past team mate Felipe Massa, who had out-qualified him. Massa didn’t put up much of a fight, Alonso was using the DRS which was very powerful on the pit straight today.

Hamilton let Button past as he had a puncture, which brought him into the pits first. This ultimately caused him to lose a track position to Alonso.

Vettel followed into the pits on lap 10, Button and Alonso pitted a lap later and made up three seconds on Vettel in the process.

Button was the only one who could live with the pace of Vettel, matching his pace, while Alonso and Hamilton were a few tenths of a second off and Webber was held up in 6th place by Massa.

Towards the end of the stints on the soft tyres we saw Button and Alonso faster than Vettel and so it was at the end of the second stint.

Vettel had to pit on lap 20 and when Button came in a lap later he was ahead of the German. Alonso didn’t come in on that lap.

Hamilton and Massa tangled again on lap 21, the lap Hamilton came in for his second stop. The stewards looked into it. Massa’s car had some damage on the left side front wing and floor.

Webber undercut Massa for P4 and really came into the race when on lap 24 the safety car was deployed for debris on the track, this allowed all the cars who had only made one stop to pit.

On lap 28 the race was restarted with Button leading from Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Massa and Hamilton, with Schumacher Perez and Di Resta all drivers in the top ten who had been helped by the safety car.

On lap 34, Vettel became the first of the front runners to pit for medium tyres, Webber did the same a lap later, still coping with a front wing which was missing some vital parts.

Vettel emerged in traffic behind Rosberg and Sutil, and was a second a lap slower than leader the Button, which gave Alonso a chance.

Button pitted on lap 37 and Alonso came in a lap later jumping Vettel in the process for second place.

Schumacher led the race for a while, by virtue of making one less stop and helped by the safety car, it worked for him, when he made his third stop he was ahead of Massa.

In the closing stages Alonso closed in on Button as once again the Ferrari proved faster at the end of the stint on the tyres. Button soaked up the pressure and kept his car out of DRS range for Alonso.

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX, Suzuka, 53 laps
1. Button McLaren 1h30:53.427
2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160
3. Vettel Red Bull + 2.006
4. Webber Red Bull + 8.071
5. Hamilton McLaren + 24.268
6. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120
7. Massa Ferrari + 28.240
8. Perez Sauber + 39.377
9. Petrov Renault + 42.607
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 44.322
11. Sutil Force India + 54.447
12. Di Resta Force India + 1:02.326
13. Kobayashi Sauber + 1:03.705
14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso + 1:04.194
15. Maldonado Williams + 1:06.623
16. Senna Renault + 1:12.628
17. Barrichello Williams + 1:14.191
18. Kovalainen Lotus + 1:27.824
19. Trulli Lotus + 1:36.140
20. Glock Virgin + 2 laps
21. D’Ambrosio Virgin + 2 laps
22. Ricciardo HRT + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT + 2 laps

Although he’d enquired about a seat at Red Bull and was on Ferrari’s radar, Button always said that his preferred option was to stay at McLaren. He was hoping for a better deal financially than the one he signed when he left Brawn in 2009 and now the situation has been resolved in a multi-year deal. “Multi-year” means more than two, but doesn’t specify how long. There will be options and clauses for when he stops racing and becomes an ambassador for the expanding McLaren brand and particularly the road car operation.

Button speaks enthusiastically about the new deal, but its noticeable that he does not say that he will finish his career at McLaren, leaving the door open, in other words. He will not however be part of the driver merry go round which is likely to take place this time next year with possible seats at Ferrari and Red Bull coming up, as well as Mercedes. Massa, Webber and Schumacher all have deals expiring at the end of 2012.

“I’ve never felt more at home at a team than I do at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said Button. “I’ve won four of the greatest races of my life here, I’m currently lying second in the drivers’ world championship, and I feel that I’m driving better than ever.
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“You can only achieve that with the right level of support – and I truly believe that the passion and determination to win are stronger here at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes than anywhere else. As a Grand Prix driver, those are incredibly powerful feelings to share and be part of, and they’ve only reinforced my desire to commit my long-term future to this team.
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“I’ve made no secret of my ambition to continue winning races and world championships, and I fully believe this is the place where I can achieve those aims.

“We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes know how to win, and we’re busy refining an organisation that will enable us to keep on doing that for years to come.”

And it takes him to fourth place in the all time points scorers list behind Schumacher, Alonso and Prost.

As in the most recent victory in Canada, it was Sebastian Vettel who followed him home. Once again it was a great outcome for his championship challenge as he extended his lead to 85 points, the largest margin at any point this season.

Fernando Alonso finished third despite a series of mistakes by himself and strategy mistakes by the team. He was only 10 seconds behind at the end.

“It’s good to have a couple of weeks break because it could take me that long to get over tonight. My 200th race, I don’t know why I like these conditions so much.. a great call by the team not to go to the inter. We go into the break on a nice high,” said Button.

It was a tricky race – there were a record 88 pit stops and a day for not making mistakes. Button once again showed his cool head to rise above it. He also had an amazing wheel to wheel battle with his team mate Lewis Hamilton.

The race started in unexpectedly drizzly conditions, which made the track slippery and further brief rain shower later in the race, which caused some strategy mistakes. As all the running up to race day had been dry, the first few laps were all about the drivers finding the grip level and braking points on a damp track with intermediate tyres.

At the start Vettel got away well from pole as Button attacked Hamilton for second place. THe two Mercedes cars made great starts with Rosberg up to fourth and Schumacher following him.

Massa was tentative into Turn 1 and Alonso got bogged down behind him, as the Mercedes cars sailed past.

Alonso passed Schumacher on the second lap, and then Rosberg as the leaders were slithering around on a surface that looked as grippy as ice, particularly in Turn 2 where Vettel, Alonso and Massa all had moments.

Hamilton put huge pressure on Vettel on lap 4 and at that point the FIA said that the DRS wing was enabled.

Alonso made a mistake allowing Rosberg back past him. Another mistake allowed Massa to pass. Alonso repassed him soon after.

With the lap times over 20 seconds slower than in qualifying, the McLaren was clearly faster than the Red Bull in the treacherous conditions. On lap 6 Hamilton forced Vettel to run wide and he swept past into the lead. he immediately began pulling away at three seconds a lap.

Webber and Massa were the first drivers to come in lap 11 for slick tyres. The number two drivers effectively for both teams, were used to gain information on the dry tyres for their more competitive team mates.

Meanwhile Alonso pumped in fastest laps to that point and got the gap down to Hamilton and Vettel to 10 seconds by the time they all stopped on lap 13.

Schumacher stayed out and this put him into the lead for the first time since he made his comeback. He pitted straight after.

Button had a great pitstop and a very fast out lap and this set him up for an attack on Vettel on lap 14, which he converted into a pass.

Webber passed Alonso at the same time, as the Ferrari struggled on the dry tyre on a still slightly damp track, its weakness at not warming up the tyres – even the supersoft – very evident.

On Lap 26 Heidfeld’s Renault caught fire and exploded after a pit stop, there was no safety car, but Webber, Alonso and Massa pitted, with Hamilton pitting a lap later, his tyres clearly shot.

This was what Jenson Button wanted to see, his tyres were in better shape and he continued, as did Alonso, another driver whose tyres were looking good at the end of the stint.

Button pitted on lap 28 while Vettel decided to stay out, but he lost five seconds in the process, bringing him back towards Webber.

But Vettel simply drove away from his team mate, who came under pressure from Alonso on lap 34.

Kobayashi, the only front runner to take the soft tyres rather than supersofts, had made one less stop than the cars around him and was 6th at the mid race phase, but Massa went past him on lap 35 and the Japanese driver dived into the pits straight away.

Alonso, unable to pass Webber, pitted a third time on lap 37 trying the undercut on Webber. He managed it as he was hugely faster on his new tyres.

Webber reacted, Red Bull putting him onto the soft tyres, which he would take to the finish. Vettel went for the same strategy, as did Button.

Button got the tyres up to speed straight away and was faster than Hamilton who was on the supersofts.

On Lap 47 Hamilton spun and Button passed him as rain began falling again at the back of the circuit only. The McLarens stayed out, Alonso pitted for softs, having realised the mistake they’d made at their third stop.

The rain began to make life difficult for the drivers on lap 50 with lap times 6 seconds slower than the lap before. As Rosberg and Webber pitted for internediates, McLaren’s drivers passed and repassed each other, but it was Hamilton in front at the crucial moment when it was time to pit for intermediates.

He decided to go for them, which proved for a mistake.

Rather than queue behind him, Button had to do another lap, but as he did so, it became clear that he didn’t need to stop again. This was the decisive moment. The move to inters was the wrong one and it cost Hamilton and Webber dear.

Hamilton also got a drive through penalty for almost hitting Di Resta after a spin and he came out behind Massa and Webber in 6th place.

On lap 58 Webber passed Massa for 5th, and Hamilton attacked and passed too on the same lap to move up to 5th.

He passed Webber for 4th on lap 63 as the pair negotiated traffic. Kobayashi got in their way on very worn tyres and Webber lost out. Kobayashi pitted at the end of that lap.

There were strong performances from Di Resta in seventh place, Buemi 8th and Alguersuari 10th again for Toro Rosso. Daniel Ricciardo had a strong day in the HRT beating Liuzzi and D’Ambrosio. Both Lotus cars retired again.

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX, Hungaroring, 70 Laps
1. Button McLaren 1h43:42.337
2. Vettel Red Bull + 3.588
3. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819
4. Hamilton McLaren + 48.338
5. Webber Red Bull + 49.742
6. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176
7. Di Resta Force India + 1 lap
8. Buemi Toro Rosso + 1 lap
9. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso + 1 lap
11. Kobayashi Sauber + 1 lap
12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
13. Barrichello Williams + 2 laps
14. Sutil Force India + 2 laps
15. Perez Sauber + 2 laps
16. Maldonado Williams + 2 laps
17. Glock Virgin + 4 laps
18. Ricciardo HRT + 4 laps
19. D’Ambrosio Virgin + 5 laps
20. Liuzzi HRT + 5 laps

They have let it be known, via Autosport.com today, that they will be looking to tie up a renewal quickly with the 2009 champion.

Button: On form (McLaren)

There’s no doubt that the McLaren is now as fast if not faster than the Red Bull in race conditions, especially with the KERS issues that Red Bull keeps encountering. But there is a lot of ground to make up.

Button’s doing well this year for the same reason as Vettel; they get on really well with the Pirelli tyres. These two are what engineers call “finger tip drivers” who use the steering lightly and protect the tyres as a result.

According to engineers I’ve discussed this with, when they encounter understeer, instead of racking on the steering lock, which hurts the tyres, they feel it early and keep the steering open.

The PIrellis fall off progressively, lap by lap and by driving as they do, the finger tip drivers get an extra couple of laps of life from the tyre. It’s very clear if you look at the Race History charts.

Although Ferrari have not given any public indication of interest in him, on a recent visit to Maranello, I got the impression that Button was the kind of driver they need at Ferrari alongside Fernando Alonso. I could also imagine Button feeling that a stint at Ferrari would be a great way to complete his career. His father John would be ecstatic.

But leaving aside the romance of it, this is a pragmatic decision for Button who will be 32 when his current McLaren deal ends. Three more years will probably take him to the finish line.

if he had a choice to make what should he do? McLaren or Ferrari?