Button: « I have a thirst for points for 2008 »

Jenson Button sent a message to his Honda team, stating that he expects to compete at the same level as a number of higher-caliber drivers! He wants to fight for race wins and also for the championship after a 2007 season that saw him score only six points. A significantly worse score than the 56 points he managed to secure in 2006.

Not only did the 28-year-old Brit drive last season with a car that was far from competitive, but he also faced the full force of the Hamilton storm. The latter, also British, has, through his victories and young age, sparked a genuine enthusiasm for F1 in his country.

Or rather from their country, since the fact is that Hamilton has somehow stolen the spotlight from Button, the more experienced of the two drivers.

He is therefore adamant; he will not tolerate any lack of performance, whatever it may be, in 2008.

« The important thing will be to score as many points as possible even in difficult conditions. In the end, everything counts for the championship, » emphasized Button after the launch of the new RA108, the car of the year 2008 which should erase the bad memory of its predecessor from last year.

For me, the important thing is to see improvements throughout the season, and they will come, I’m sure of it.

« I’m not just talking about a few tenths of a second, we need to make a big leap forward with significant improvements over the coming year. We hope to be competitive and that we can improve race by race. It’s necessary, not just for ourselves, but also for our image with our competitors. »

This ambition will be infinitely facilitated by the appointment last November of a strategic genius in the person of Ross Brawn, who has taken on the role of team principal. The former technical director of Ferrari thus takes over from Nick Fry, who had held the position since the end of 2004.

Many people realized that something had to change, and there you go, Ross Brawn arrived along with other very good technicians. We’ve made some massive changes, which makes me think of a better future, concluded Button.