Jenson Button is struggling to motivate himself in the light of
Honda's
Formula 1 struggles in 2008 – that is the argument of the sport's 1964 world champion John Surtees.
The Briton has scored just three points from the opening eight races of the current campaign – and nine since the end of 2006 – as Honda is grappling with two uncompetitive cars in succession.
That has prompted former Honda ace Surtees to claim that in his opinion the 28-year-old, who secured his breakthrough
F1 victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix just under two years ago, is a ‘big question mark'.
“He seems to be having problems with his motivation,” six-time grand prix winner Surtees told Swiss publication
Motorsport Aktuell.
In a further dig at Button's form – with some suggesting that his F1 career has stalled just as it looked to be really taking off – close friend
David Coulthard joked that with his two fellow Brits somewhat off-colour at the moment, he was starting to fancy his own chances in what will be his final British Grand Prix this weekend.
“Lewis [Hamilton] is looking a bit shaky right now with all these penalties and pit-lane crashes,” the experienced Scot quipped in an interview with the
Daily Telegraph. “Jenson just seems to be cruising. I'm going to have to step up.”
On a more serious note, however, Coulthard – who yesterday announced his retirement from F1 at the end of what will be his 15th season in the top flight, encompassing a career that has yielded some 13 victories, 62 rostrum finishes and a staggering 533 points – tipped Hamilton for great things in the years to come…provided he proves capable of keeping his ‘Beckham-style' lifestyle in-check.
“I have won more grands prix than Lewis,” the 37-year-old mused, “but I am sure he will go on to win more than I have. He hasn't done anything I haven't done, though, so there is no jealousy.
“I admire success and I think Lewis is a well-educated, extremely talented guy and a friend. Lewis has it in his hands to decide how his time is used when he is not driving a racing car.”
