12/11/2010
NEWS STORY
Mat Coch writes:
Mature and intelligent is the way McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh describes 2010 recruit Jenson Button. Having moved to the team following his title winning 2009 campaign the Englishman has seemingly taken to the Woking team like a duck to water.
"I think Jenson's been a great team player," said Whitmarsh. "I think he's grown and matured, I think he's a very intelligent driver."
After winning the championship with Brawn last season Button confessed to having some concerns over the way in which he'd be received at his new team. Speaking to the media on Thursday he revealed that those worries were quickly dismissed and that he now feels more at home than ever.
"I feel very much at home here," he confessed. "I don't want to take anything away from the previous team because I again felt very at home there and felt part of the team, but I didn't think it would happen so quickly with this team. I didn't think I'd be welcomed quite as much as I was."
Button's comments seem to mirror the opinion that McLaren is a very cold environment, though the Hamilton/Button pairing seems to be warm and constructive, far removed from the Hamilton/Alonso pairing of 2007. Martin Whitmarsh agrees.
"He's contributed to building the relationship and the trust with Lewis and I think there's been good harmony in the team. We've enjoyed some wins, and though we've not enjoyed all the races as much as we'd like to within the team there's a good spitit and a good desire to win."
Success came almost immediately, the 30-year-old winning in Australia and China. His Australian Grand Prix win in particular impressed, Button using his intelligence as well as his racing ability to get the car across the line first. That victory helped Whitmarsh form his opinion of Button.
"I think that it's great that he won some races at the beginning of the year and I think he did so by clearly and obviously making his own personal contribution to what happened during that race, using his head very effectively," revealed the McLaren boss.
"Jenson has really very quickly learned to appreciate how we work. I think he's contributed and improved us, and hopefully we can work to improve him."