Mansell: Button is 'best in the business'

Source : www.autosport.com

By Simon Strang
Wednesday, June 17th 2009

Former Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell has hailed Jenson Button as the 'best in the business' on the eve of this weekend's final British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT, Mansell said that Button - who starts this weekend's event seeking to make it seven out of eight victories so far this season - is already a dead cert to take this year's drivers' title.

"It's his championship, there is no way that anybody can come back at him," said Mansell. "The only thing that can go wrong now is they have a really bad run of reliability, but I don't see that happening.

"He is the best in the business now and that car looks just amazing. I mean the balance of that car... I was watching it at Monaco and I said to my son Greg, 'there are some awesome cars I have driven in the past, but I think that is one that goes into the history books as straight-out-of-the-box magical'."

Mansell enjoyed enormous success on home soil, scoring his first F1 victory at the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in 1985. He won the British GP, again at the Kent circuit, in 1986 and continued the success story on at Silverstone in 1987.

The Briton, who became a household name through his inspiring performances at home and added another two wins in 1991 and '92 to his Silverstone tally, believes Jenson Button is primed to add his name to a list of home winners that includes Damon Hill, David Coulthard and most recently Lewis Hamilton, who dominated in the rain last year.

Mansell added that there are parallels between his and Button's career as both took several years to get themselves in race-winning equipment and emerge as genuine front-runners.

"The great thing is that he [Button] had served a very long apprenticeship and now it's coming together," said Mansell, who added that Button seemed determined to capitalise on his situation. "The thing that is really good for him, and I congratulate him on, is that he is not letting this go, he is staying focused.

"In fact he is more focused than I have ever seen him and better than ever as well."