Wheel of fortune turns for Button

Jenson Button's successes and Lewis Hamilton's woes have provided Formula One with a storyline that only fantasists would have believed possible this time last year.

Button, who scored just three points last season while 23-year-old fellow Briton Hamilton bagged 98 on his way to becoming the sport's youngest world champion, has gone from tail-ender to runaway leader in an implausible and entirely unpredictable sequence of events.

Seemingly on the grand prix drivers' scrap heap six months ago when his Honda team pulled out, Button has made a comeback with Brawn GP that ranks as one of the most headline-grabbing in any sport.

In front of his home crowd at Silverstone this weekend, he could become the first British driver to win seven of the first eight races of a season.

The fact that Button has been around for so long already -- he had taken only one win from 153 starts before March -- has added to the sense of disbelief. So too has the sight of McLaren's Hamilton, with just nine points so far this year after two sensational seasons, struggling to score. For some it is further proof that Formula One is all about the car, even a barely-branded one such as Button's.

"I am happy for him (Button), he's a nice guy and he deserves it," Toyota's Italian driver Jarno Trulli told Reuters recently. "He has never had a chance and now he's having the chance and using it. It proves how important the car is in this business. This year so far just shows how important is the team and the car in your career. No more than that."

Button has a ready reply to those who would belittle his achievements: "When you are in a football team you don't ask how much was the goalkeeper worth, how much was the defender, the striker?" he said. "It's a team effort, and that's what Formula One is. I'm the guy driving the car, but there are 400-odd people building it and putting it together, and we work together."

Button could not show off his talents to the watching masses last year because his Honda was shockingly uncompetitive. When it caught fire in the final race in Brazil, it burned unmourned. This year he finally has the machine to do him justice and, like a desert flower that blooms once in a decade, he is blossoming.

"Jenson is someone who has been an exceptional driver in the past and I think you lose that shine and that spark when it's hard. But now he's back in the hot seat, he's getting it back," said Britain's 1996 champion Damon Hill.

Each success is lifting Button to a new level, making him more focused, confident and determined. He has entered a mental zone where everything just clicks, taking him to ever greater heights. The talent has always been there - just as it still is with Hamilton - and, after nine seasons, Button has the maturity and insight to make the most of it. He now has had the good fortune to be presented at the peak of his powers with a fantastic car that responds perfectly to his smooth style. His experienced team mate Rubens Barrichello remains his closest rival but 26 points back.

Hamilton won at Silverstone last year, trouncing all rivals by more than a minute - and lapping both Ferraris - with a breathtaking display in wet conditions.

Button has never won his home grand prix, and Sunday is likely to be his last chance to do it at Silverstone with Donington Park due to take over as venue next year. Hamilton wished him all the best.

"I think it will be great if Jenson wins," he said. "I'm already egging him on. I guess I should put some money on him. I think it will be a proud moment to have a fellow Brit win and I would understand exactly how he is feeling. I will know exactly what he is going through."