Brilliant Button…

8th Jun

All hail Jensen Button, another Formula 1 Grand Prix, another victory and another giant step towards becoming the second British driver to be crowned World Champion in two seasons.

There is no doubting the incredible talent of Somerset-born Button.

His performance at the Turkish circuit yesterday was Schumacher-esque in its perfection, and with Ross Brawn in the background his team could dominate the sport for years to come.

Six wins in seven races will strike fear into the pit lane, which has not seen such dominance since the dull, robotic German swept all before him in his Ferrari.

But what about next season - and the prospect of a rule change which will hand the title to the driver who wins most races?

The new law was set to be implemented in time for this season, until the F1 drivers association stepped in and voted against it. I can see why.

If the new rule was in place now Button would be within three wins of collecting the title - with seven races still to go.

Where would that leave us? Would you bother watching seven completely irrelevant races around the globe knowing full well Button's name was already on the trophy.

I know I wouldn't. And where would that leave the drivers who risk their lives in the pursuit of the biggest prize in sport?

Would they still push themselves and their cars to the limit - with nothing whatsoever to play for?

I think not. I fear the whole thing will become a farce. There will be no competition, I mean who wants to watch Timo Glock going all out to get past Nico Rosberg in the battle for ninth place in the drivers championship?

There will be no competition, no drama, no intensity and no point in tuning in. The whole thing will become a pointless procession.

I foresee a situation where pitstops, currently dictated by a team of super intelligent number-crunchers fussing over spreadsheets, would become more like a visit to Kwikfit.

Imagine the scenario, Giancarlo Fisichella, roars into the pits and sits engine purring while a few minutes later a bloke in tatty blue overalls wanders over fag drooping from the corner of his mouth, and asks with a grunt: ''What can I do for you mate?''

After a cursory wander round the car and a few puffs on his Lambert and Butler, the greasemonkey would ask Fisichella to get out, tell him: ''You're gonna need four new tyres mate, those ones are shot to s**t, come inside.''

At which point the grunt would grab Fisichella's keys, point him in the direction of the coffee machine, follow him into the waiting room and proceed to find the most expensive tyres available.

It could happen.

What if a driver who has already secured third place in the championship is being hotly pursued by some no-mark desperate to score his first points of a god-awful season?

With a mirror full of angry rookie is he seriously going to try and hold his position - or will he do what we all do faced with a crazed chav in our rearview, pull over and get the hell out of the way?

Would the drivers even want to compete if there was nothing to compete for? I wouldn't. I'd give my keys and helmet to the bloke whose job it usually is to wipe my visor with a damp cloth and tell him: ''I won't say anything if you don't.''

So pleaser Bernie, don't let it happen. It will ruin the entire spectacle for millions of F1 fans - and the BBC might want a chunk of their £200million back if viewing figures drop.

Written by Doug