08/08/2007
NEWS STORY
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Following a stinging attack from Nigel Mansell, who claims that Jenson Button's career is as good as over, Honda boss Nick Fry has jumped to the defence of the English driver.
The 1992 World Champion told the BBC that Button was past his prime and had wasted his talent, preferring to party as opposed to concentrate on his racing career.
However, talking to the Daily Mail, Fry was quick to defend Button, who scored his maiden GP last year at the Hungaroring.
"I have absolutely no doubt that given the right car, Jenson can win races and the world championship," said Fry. "I would point to his drive at the beginning of the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring where he overtook almost the entire field in a car that is not particularly good.
"People recognise he's a driver whose time is yet to come," Fry continued. "If we had a situation where Jenson would be able to compete with Lewis (Hamilton), I'm sure we would all be - certainly in the UK - very happy."
Fry is also adamant that despite the equipment at his disposal, Button has never given less than 100 percent this year.
"As far as we are concerned, Jenson has demonstrated outstanding professionalism and maturity in what has been a difficult time for the team. He has tried to help the team go forward, and in many ways his efforts have been above and beyond what is expected of Formula One drivers.
"I would refute everything Nigel has said," he continued, "and particularly I think his comments about Jenson's reputation for partying are about five years out of date. People forget that Jenson made his F1 debut at the age of 20 - but he's now 27. I've worked with him now for five years, and his increasing maturity, and the way he has changed his lifestyle is extremely noticeable. His behaviour has been noticed and admired by several team principals. Some of them have told me they believe his behaviour has been absolutely impeccable."
For the record:
Mansell's first win came at the 75th attempt
Button's first win came at the 113th attempt
Mansell won the 1992 title - at the age of 39y 0m 8d
Button is 27y 6m old
From 185 starts, Mansell scored 31 wins, his career points/GP average was 2.605
From 118 starts, Jenson Button has 1 win, his career/points average is 1.890