jb

And so for another season at Benetton... sorry Renault as they now are. It's difficult to imagine Button's heart jumping for joy at that prospect. Probably wishing he was back at Williams in his much promised drive alongside Ralf or Montoya. Fat chance.

Button's disaterous 2001 season probably put an end to any chance he has of returning to Williams during the three year `loan` style contract he has. Williams are theoretically allowed to demand him back at any time, but given that Ralf is now contracted until the end of 2004 and Juan isn't likely to be going anywhere fast we can't quite see this happening.

So Button appears stuck under the watchful eye of Flavio Briatore, not known for his delicate touch when it comes to demanding the best from his drivers. Button arrived at Benetton in 2001 probably quite confident. He'd received rave reviews from the British press about his performances at Williams, they all appeared to think he was the best thing since sliced bread. They tended to slightly overlook the fact that he ended the season with half of Ralf's total, which maybe set of some warning lights that he wasn't quite that good after all.

But then came 2001. Alongside Giancarlo Fisichella, he was widely expected to come up easily the victor. Giancarlo had been struggling quite badly in 2000 so it wasn't really thought that he'd be a match for the young up and commer. Shows how wrong you can be. Button didn't just get beaten. He got hammered.

Finishing the season six points behind your teammate might not seem all that much but given how bad the Benetton was it shows that Fisichella managed to extract the maximum. All too often Button appeared content to sit back and moan about his bottom of the grid obscurity. Consider also qualifying, the one thing that really measures drivers against their teammates. Out of seventeen races Button was outqualified by Fisichella thirteen times. Less than impressive isn't it.

In 2002 Button faces tougher opposition than Fisichella as Trulli moves to Renault, we presume as No 1 driver. Button failed to beat Fisichella on any level, and we can't help but think he'll flounder against Trulli. If he does then it's difficult to imagine him ever regaining a foothold in any of the upper teams of F1.

He's always been one to let the success go to his head a bit which is kind of understandable. Most 21 year olds suddenly thrown into F1 probably would do the same thing. But buying an apartment, yaucht, private jet, countryside mansion, flashy cars, doesn't come cheap. And if Button's performances don't pick up soon the only flashy car he'll be driving is a Minardi.

Don't expect an improvement on last seasons 17th place and points total of 2.