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Jenson Button has managed an extraordinary feat this year after winning the F1 World Championship in Brawn GP's debut season. But why is he so good all of a sudden? Hasn't he been around for ages? Wasn't he a bit... well... rubbish?
Same goes for Lewis Hamilton -- just in reverse. How did the former World Champion go from number one to number six or seven in the space of a season?

This contrast in fortunes raises an important question -- who is the better champion? Is it Hamilton -- the second-season golden boy who came off of the boil this year, or Button, the veteran journeyman come good?

Or is it neither -- are both drivers still struggling to overcome the ultimate legend in (fictional) racing, our boy hero Speed Racer?

Check out our debate after the jump...

Jenson Button:

Apparently when Hamilton and Button were still in go-karts, Hamilton looked up to Button as a hero."He was the guy I wanted to be," Hamilton said. "The one we all wanted to be. He was the best - that was how he was seen within karting." Sure he lost for quite a while, but good things come to those who wait...

Pros: ferocious speed, continual dominance, and after eight years on the track he probably deserved it.
Cons: Was it all down to the car? And you could have seen him winning a mile-off, where was the drama?
Celebrity girlfriend: Jessica Michibata (Japanese fashion model)
Quote after winning final race: "I'm world champion, baby!"


Lewis Hamilton:

After his nail-biting season last year, finishing 5th at Interlagos to narrowly beat Felipe Massa on points, Lewis cannot be beaten for drama. The year before, his first season, he also brought the tension, only just losing out on the championship after bombing out on the final two races of the season.

Pros: amazing talent, offensively young, and the king of nail-biting racing.
Cons: Moved to Switzerland for tax purposes.
Celebrity girlfriend: Nicole Scherzinger (Chief Pussycat Doll)
Quote after winning final race: "It's pretty impossible to put into words"


Speed Racer

Then there's Speed Racer, the most fortuitously named racing car driver to ever not have existed. He is included because (1) he always had something pithy to say to his rivals, and (2) he too is a great champion who relied on an even greater car. Just as Hamilton and Button would be nothing without their mechanics Speed would be nothing without the Mach 5. Thus they belong together.

Pros: He's bloody fast, and eventually wins everything.
Cons: Not real, and the film absolutely bombed.
Celebrity girlfriend: Trixie (Some girl)
Quote: "Go Speed Racer, Go!"