Petrol heads, I stumbled across this from Planet F1. This has been posted for us to debate about and not for the usual Hamelots and Buttoneers to bash each other to death and ruin the thread.
Whilst Hamilton was at McLaren he highlighted on a variety of occasions that the sponsors commitments and media events were too much and he routinely highlighted this as an issue. Now he's joined Mercedes and he says he has a lot more freedom. Button however suggest that Hamilton criticism are not accurate and then says that McLaren offer you as much free time as well.
However Button then goes on further to say they work extra hard because they do not have a budget as large as Mercedes and he found it daunting at first as noted in the quotes below;
"I was very, very surprised to hear that," Button said Thursday when asked about Hamilton's comments. "The freedom I have in this team is phenomenal.
"It's so not like that. It's a very open team, free team, and a team that will do anything for you."
Button said that McLaren, unlike Mercedes, cannot use massive revenues from its road car sales to bankroll its F1 operations and therefore needs to work harder to cultivate and retain sponsors.
"In this team you work, you have to work, and perhaps harder than in other teams," Button said. "Initially when I came to the team it was a shock. You learn to understand, to adapt - that is the job."
What I find amusing though is that JB agrees with him in his statement but is saying Hamilton is wrong.
It's a shame that the relationship broke down the way it did and is another example of McLaren's inability to manage top drivers.
So what do you guys think? Sour grapes from Hamilton or Button or general incompetence by McLaren.
I'm leaning towards incompetence. McLaren are experts in that field
Your thoughts and comments are welcome
Link to full article: http://www.planet-f1.com/driver/3213/8564705/Button-surprised-by-Hamilton-s-criticism?
Button surprised by Hamilton Criticism
posted on 20/3/13
Here is a news story that is covered in several papers
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/lewis-hamilton-would-taken-year-1774440
posted on 20/3/13
Tensions did seem high at mclaren, imo the split was best for all concerned
posted on 20/3/13
Agreed, you can actually see that Hamilton is relaxed and in good spirits.
It's a shame they couldn't make it work. McLaren does it again
posted on 20/3/13
There is an interesting programme on BBC2 Thursday 9.00pm
Horizon: How to Avoid Mistakes In Surgery.
It features interviews with F1 pit crews. I wonder if McLaren will be featured.
posted on 20/3/13
man dare devil
logically button is going to sing from the mclaren hymn sheet when one of the media ask him if hamilton said this that or the other as mclaren pay his wages ,
i suppose one persons freedom is another persons claustrophobia so who knows where the truth lies , in fairness jenson from the outside would seem to be more mature than lewis so maybe he can accept his mclaren duties more readily than hamilton ever did -
---------- to be honest none of us here have the foggiest what went on at mclaren between dennis or the drivers --
posted on 20/3/13
Martial, if you read Button statement, he actually agrees that their schedule is rough and filled with the events Hamilton talked about.
So he disagreed with him but then agreed with him. Some of the media days and events they had were ridiculous and as a team they need to be smarter about their itinerary suggests
posted on 20/3/13
man devil
it seems like button is just sucking up to his bosses , having said that hamilton is more famous and more marketable than button so maybe more people want a piece of him ,
i remember mika hakkinen saying much the same thing as hamilton , so probably mclaren do expect there drivers to go the extra mile -
posted on 20/3/13
I remember an event he went for in between 2 races in a week that involved him making two 10 hour round trips.
Foolish. They couldn't manage Kimi, didn't manage Alonso well and the same with Hamilton.
posted on 21/3/13
So he disagreed with him but then agreed with him
--------------------------------------------------
It's probably not quite as simple as that.
It may be that Button agrees that they have much more to do away from the track than other teams but he was generally more willing to accept this duty than Hamilton, which will have been surprising to JB as Lewis had been at that team for much longer so surely will have been more aware of what would be asked of him.
posted on 21/3/13
"surprising to JB as Lewis had been at that team for much longer so surely will have been more aware of what would be asked of him"
or you could take the view that Lewis has been there longer so he's had to go through much more of it