Honda's Formula One driver Jenson Button of Britain celebrates on the podium after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest yesterday. - Reuters
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters):
Never again will Jenson Button be asked when, or indeed if, he is ever going to win a grand prix. Never again will the Briton have to endure endless questions about all those starts without success, about whether perhaps the hype outweighs the hope and whether he really has what it takes.
The doubts were laid to rest in Hungary yesterday, as the 26-year-old raced through the rain - from 14th place on the starting grid - to join the likes of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in the Formula One winners' circle at last.
STEPPED UP
After 113 starts, the Honda driver stepped up to the top of the podium at the same circuit that witnessed championship-winning compatriot Damon Hill's first win in 1993 and Nigel Mansell's title the previous year.
Only Italian Jarno Trulli (with 117 starts) and Button's Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello (124) had gone longer before their first victories.
The monkey was truly off the Briton's back and, soaked in champagne, the first Briton to win a grand prix in more than three years lapped up the applause.
"It's an amazing feeling. Those last 10 laps, when I was leading with a 40 second lead, were the best laps of my career." he said.
"Just to sit there and relax, and know I didn't have to push too hard. I could let it sink in. It was really enjoyable. To come from 14th and win a race here, in these conditions, is the perfect way to win your first race."
Hungary, the first wet race in years, ripped up the form book with world champion Alonso and title rival Schumacher both retiring while McLaren's pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen crashed out.
Button, carving his way through the field with real determination, made the most of it by picking off a competitor every lap.
His father John, swathed in a Union Jack and with a cigar clenched between his teeth, walked around in a beatific daze.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet, just incredible," he said. "And what a great race as well. Just amazing. He's always good in slippery conditions, and the rain, but he was just devastating out there," he said. "It's unbelievable.
