Jenson Button's not Bonkers

Bonkers?
By Phil Huff (05/12/2003)
December 5 2003

Lucky Strike BAR Honda's star driver Jenson Button is many things: fast, rich, intelligent and irritatingly photogenic, but he's not, according to 1996 World Champion Damon Hill, "bonkers".

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Damon Hill believes Button has all the technical attributes required to become World Champion himself, but still lacks that one final piece of the jigsaw.

"If you look at past world champions," said Hill, "they are all bonkers, basically. I was a bit nutty, too. But Jenson? He's just so even tempered and takes everything in his stride. If I had any reservations about him as a driver it would be that he is not bonkers enough.

"I wanted to win the championship so badly. It is neither normal or particularly healthy to want to win as badly as I did. I had my reasons, no doubt connected in some way to my father, etc. When I look at Jenson, he appears frighteningly normal. I mean he is getting married, for goodness sake."

Jenson's not too worried about Damon's comments though, responding "Sensible. Moi? I crash into walls at 200mph. Besides, you have to be mad to drive an F1 car in the first place. Maybe the fact that I don't lose it all the time is a strength not a weakness."