Jenson Button arrived at McLaren last year as reigning world champion, but widely tipped to be thrashed into number two deference by team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
That didn’t happen: Button proved more than a match for his countryman on the opposite side of the garage, won twice, led the championship for a while, and was lauded by the team for both his contribution to the technical side and his intelligent racing style – and all while still settling in.
Overall though, Hamilton was marginally the quicker McLaren driver in 2010, so Button still has to prove that this was due to Lewis’s long experience with the team and that really there’s nothing to choose between them.
Even if Hamilton does prove to be the better title bet at McLaren, Button still starts 2011 with his reputation higher than ever, and having achieved a level of success and respect that seemed improbably during his many years of toiling just to get on the podium.
F1 career log
Button was immediately tipped for greatness when he burst onto the Formula 1 scene with Williams in 2000.
Aged only 20, and with just two seasons of car racing under his belt, the young Brit would have scored a point on his debut had his engine not failed.
He continued to impress all season, but Williams was already committed to Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya for 2001, so Button had to move to Benetton.
He couldn’t match team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella in a difficult car, and the critics pounced – accusing Button of being an over-hyped playboy.
Although he reasserted himself with a series of points finishes in 2002, he was dropped in favour of Fernando Alonso at the end of the season.
BAR boss David Richards threw Button a lifeline, to the chagrin of incumbent number one Jacques Villeneuve.
Jenson won the intra-team battle, and the dumped Villeneuve could only watch from the sidelines as BAR took a big leap forward in 2004.
It was a breakthrough season for Button, who single-handedly kept the dominant Ferrari in sight for much of the year, even though victory remained elusive.
He was therefore devastated when the team’s 2005 car proved both less competitive and significantly more unreliable.
Button also became embroiled in a prolonged contractual wrangle between Williams and BAR, before committing to the latter just as it became a fully-fledged Honda factory team.
It was a good choice - he flew in winter testing and started 2006 as a dark horse for the title, and though the season didn’t live up to expectations, he did at least break his victory duck with an unforgettable triumph in changeable weather at the Hungaroring.
Button hoped to build on that form in 2007, only for Honda to deliver a disastrously uncompetitive car.
Bar a few characteristically strong wet-weather showings, Button spent both 2007 and 2008 mired at the back of the pack – and was then left fearing for his F1 future after Honda’s exit bombshell.
But Jenson’s lowest ebb preceded his finest hour: for the recently-installed Ross Brawn had already put everything in place for Honda to surge to the front in 2009, and when the team was reborn under the Brawn GP title, that’s exactly what it did.
Six wins from the first seven races gave Button enough of a cushion to hang on through the mid-season stutters and take a world championship no one would have expected eight months earlier.
Formative years
Button had a meteoric rise to F1, with his exceptional karting record meaning he was already a hot property before he even sat in a car.
He captured the British Formula Ford title and the prestigious FFord Festival in his debut season in 1998, then went on to finish third in the domestic Formula 3 series before being given his first F1 test with Prost in late 1999.
His form caught the eye of Frank Williams, who gave Button the chance to successfully audition for a 2000 race seat.
Strengths: Silky-smooth style makes him great in the wet and adept at reeling off super-consistent race laps even on heavy fuel and worn tyres. An incisive overtaker with a good technical brain.
Weaknesses: Form can nosedive if the car slips off the pace or if he’s not comfortable with the set-up.
Most likely to: Take a beautifully-judged win in changeable weather.
Career highlight: Dominating the first half of 2009 on way to the title.
Lowest ebb: Realising just how terrible Honda’s 2007 design was, and that he’d be stuck with it all year.
Goals for 2011: Match or beat Hamilton at every race, and win another title.