Formula One 
/ James Frankland / 19 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
"Over the last ten seasons, on seven occasions the winner of the Australian Grand Prix has been the eventual Championship victor, so the question to be asked is, will history repeat itself in 2012?"
Following a British victory in Australia, James Frankland considers the result as well as historical precedents to ask if it's time to back Jenson Button for the Drivers' Championship...
A recurring theme during commentary on the Australian Grand Prix was that, more often than not, the winner of this race goes on to win the Driver's World Championship. Here's what happened in recent years to see whether the outcome of Sunday's race means it's time to get behind Jenson in 2012.
2011
Australian GP Winner: Sebastian Vettel
Driver's Championship Winner: Sebastian Vettel
Defending champion Vettel kicked off his title defence in emphatic style, winning comfortably ahead of Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. It set the tone for a season of crushing dominance for the young German, who scored 15 pole positions and 11 wins to clinch his second consecutive title at the Japanese Grand Prix, four races before the end of the year.
2010
Australian GP Winner: Jenson Button
Driver's Championship Winner: Sebastian Vettel
Vettel led from pole on a wet track, but as the track dried Button's early switch to slick tyres brought him into contention and he inherited the lead when Vettel crashed out on lap 25. Button remained in contention for the title until the penultimate round but it was Vettel who took the championship in Abu Dhabi, winning a four-way fight with his teammate Mark Webber, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Button's McLaren stablemate Hamilton.
2009
Australian GP Winner: Jenson Button
Driver's Championship Winner: Jenson Button
Button led all 58 laps on his way to a debut victory for the Brawn team, created from the ashes of the Honda squad that struggled so badly in 2008. He went on to win six of the first seven races, and held onto his lead in the face of a determined fight from Vettel, clinching the title with a race to go at Interlagos in Brazil.
2008
Australian GP Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Driver's Championship Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Having come so close to winning the title in his rookie year, Hamilton went one better in 2008 and won in dominant style, leading all but five laps of the race. He would face strong competition for the championship from Ferrari's Felipe Massa all year, leading to that famous moment at the season finale in Brazil where Massa won, believing he had taken the title, only for Hamilton to pass Timo Glock's Toyota on the last corner to secure the two points he needed.
2007
Australian GP Winner: Kimi Raikkonen
Driver's Championship Winner: Kimi Raikkonen
2006
Australian GP Winner: Fernando Alonso
Driver's Championship Winner: Fernando Alonso
2005
Australian GP Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella
Driver's Championship Winner: Fernando Alonso
2004
Australian GP Winner: Michael Schumacher
Driver's Championship Winner: Michael Schumacher
2003
Australian GP Winner: David Coulthard
Driver's Championship Winner: Michael Schumacher
2002
Australian GP Winner: Michael Schumacher
Driver's Championship Winner: Michael Schumacher
Over the last ten seasons, on seven occasions the winner of the Australian Grand Prix has been the eventual Championship victor, so the question to be asked is whether history will repeat itself in 2012? There is no doubt McLaren have produced an extremely strong car - qualifying seven tenths ahead of the Red Bulls is testament to that - and Button himself is in a very good place, having fully integrated himself into what many were calling 'Team Hamilton' when it was revealed Jenson was joining McLaren from Brawn in 2009.
This season is going to be a very close one, and I doubt we will see Button romping off into the distance like Vettel did last year. The field spread is just too tight for it, but when you look at how much Button's value has reduced from [13.0] to [3.65] after Sunday's win, you'd have to say history favours the McLaren man.
It was a great opening race for Jenson Button and the McLaren team with first and third places. The British team now occupy favouritism for the Constructors' Championship and look set to play a big role in the Drivers' competition......
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