Briatore: “Button was exceptional” in 2011

Team boss and driver manager, Flavio Briatore has never been short on words and has occasionally made very sharp media outings against certain drivers. Nelson Piquet Jr., Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Heikki Kovalainen have all been targets of the sharp remarks from the Italian manager whose preferred target for a long time remained Jenson Button, who drove under his orders in 2001 and 2002 before being ousted from Renault in anticipation of Fernando Alonso’s arrival.

Thus, after the title won by the Briton in 2009, Flavio Briatore made some unkind comments about the future world champion and his teammate at the time, Rubens Barrichello: « The drivers in our team are world champions, but today the title is being contested between a semi-retired and another who is a decent guy but is like a milestone. »

Since then, the Briton has responded to his critic in the press but, more importantly, on the track, first by fighting for the title again in 2010 against drivers of the caliber of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, but especially by dominating the latter in 2011, remaining the only one who could attempt to slow down Sebastian Vettel’s solo run.

After already acknowledging his error in judgment last November, Flavio Briatore continues his mea culpa for Omnicorse.it: « The Jenson who raced for us was not the same. I must also say that since then, we have spoken again and cleared things up. When he raced for Renault, he had not yet understood what it meant to make sacrifices to achieve results in Formula One, but I admit I was wrong about him. I am one of those who are ready to change their opinion, I am not stubborn. In 2011, Button was exceptional: he is a driver with a very clean style and who understood better than anyone else how to exploit the tires. I would also add that he had a bit of luck, an element that is part of the game. He had the merit of always staying on track and made the most of all the winning opportunities that came his way. »