36th, From 14th to Glory: Jenson Button's Sensational Rise in the Rain at Hungaroring
The promise and optimism of his first F1 season seemed like a long time ago – probably because it was. Seven seasons is an age in Grand Prix racing and for Jenson Button a lot of water had flowed since that bright debut at Williams in 2000, aged just 20.
Much of that water had been turbulent, but he’d survived the rapids with dignity intact. After all, he always had been good in the wet.
Amid the turmoil of an increasingly political Ferrari versus Renault championship battle, F1 arrived in usually balmy Budapest only to discover meteorological storm clouds too. The weekend started badly for Button and his Honda team, a spectacular engine failure landing him a 10-place grid penalty. He would start 14th.