Why I finally love Jenson Button

I can hold my hands up and openly say that I wasn't 100% behind Jenson Button throughout the 2009 Formula 1 season - despite him being the only British hopeful for championship glory.

Why I hear you ask? Well there are two reasons.

Number 1 - I am huge on Lewis Hamilton. What he did in 2007 and then in 2008 was what I have craved for many years from a British driver. He fought the very best opposition in a car that was a very similar speed to 3 world class rivals: Fernando Alonso in an identical McLaren, and Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in a similar speed Ferrari.

He over came these men and by the end (and I mean the end, the last corner in fact!) of the 2008 season he was crowned world champion. It choked me when he crossed the line 5th in Brazil, it really did...

So I'm a real Lewis Hamilton fan through and through, but surely you'd think there was room in my racing heart for another British driver in the form of Jenson Button? Well that brings me nicely onto my next point...

Number 2 - and most importantly, I'm a Formula 1 fan at the absolute core. If Formula 1 as a whole is not doing well for itself and the fans, then that is bad news for me.

Let's consider what makes F1 tick. It's the competition, the unpredictability, the chances and the risks that drivers take to achieve their goals. If that doesn't exist I feel like the F1 flame is being extinguished a little.

If I'm honest, I felt like this happened in the first half of the 2009 season. Brawn GP had the upper hand via the diffuser-gate controversy and by the time the teams had caught up, Jenson had won 6 out of the first 7 races of the season with reasonable ease.

I realise winning F1 races doesn't just happen by default and just to lucky men, but Jenson Button seemed to have all his birthdays come in one half the season there is no doubt.

On one side it was great to see a British driver doing so well, but my real feelings were more towards the fact that the sports titans: Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes were struggling so much!

As the season progressed it became clear what I wanted from the final half of the year. A clear cut fight for the championship title that would be decided in the last round if possible just to prolong the drama. None of this: let's hope Jenson wraps it up with a few races to go - that's complete rubbish!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Lewis Hamilton and McLarens comeback simply because of how unpredictable it was. Who would have thought when Lewis was down in 16th place at his home race, the British Grand Prix that a few races later he'd be taking victory at the Hungaroring? Not you - I can guarantee it!

This is what I love. The come backs and the fights for glory against the odds.

And more honesty from me - I enjoyed watching Jenson Button's championship lead seep away and his tension increase in the last few races. These drivers are paid a hell of a lot of money and I believe they need to work for it.

On race day in Brazil, nobody believed the championship was going to be wrapped up by Button starting in the last quarter of the grid - that was impossible right?

Then I fell in love with Jenson Button...

His early race aggression was exhilarating to watch as he took on the likes of Kobayashi, a driver on his debut and then Kazuki Nakajima in his Williams. The overtaking and race craft was the best in the business. Once he had passed the slower but seemingly wider cars, Jenson's radio outburst of "Lets go, lets go!" was a clear indication he wanted that championship badly.

And that is what he won. The world drivers' title is his for a year at least and he can be very proud of his achievement. I'm certainly a fan and very pleased for him. As I said from the start, I wasn't fully behind him all year, far from it, but I'm totally in awe of the way he won the crown and believe he is a deserving world champion.

As for 2010? Who knows what will happen. I believe it will be more competitive than 2009 and there are so many new factors to consider like the driver and team swaps.

I'll still be screaming and supporting Lewis Hamilton as ever, but I'll also be gunning for Jenson Button as well.

James Wilson