LONDON, Aug 7 - Even as he whooped with joy in the immediate euphoria of
his long-awaited first Formula One victory, Jenson Button looked forward to the
next one.
"It feels so normal already," the champagne-soaked Briton declared after
winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"It's nice to see that we've got a car that can win races," added the Honda
driver, words he had waited 113 starts to be able to utter.
The plural 'races' is important. Button has never lost his self-belief,
despite cruel headlines and suggestions that he was more paddock playboy than
potential champion, and he will always be a winner now whatever he does.
The 26-year-old thanked those who also kept the faith even when times were
tough.
"The team deserves this. They've been working so hard and it's taken so many
years to get here," he said. "We're finally here.
"I've got to say a big thank you to everyone in the factory and everyone back
in the UK who is supporting me because they've never lost faith which is the
amazing thing."
Button shed a lot of unwanted baggage at the Hungaroring, the same track
where Damon Hill won for the first time in 1993.
In Hill's case, that win was the first in a series that led to the 1996 title
with Williams.
Button, the first British winner in three years, will now want to follow in
the footsteps of his country's last champion.
Even if his win on Sunday, on a wet track and in extraordinary circumstances,
may not be repeated in a hurry in a current championship dominated by Renault
and Ferrari, it at least makes the dream more real.
TOTALLY UNFAIR
"I really did feel that, from Jenson's point of view, he showed them," said
team boss Nick Fry.
"There are so many people who have said over the years that he is a
wonderfully smooth driver, which he is, but that he can't overtake," he added.
