There were a lot of Jenson Button apologists quick to jump to the Englishman’s defence when Renault showed him the door in favour of Fernando Alonso for 2003.

“Unfair,” they cried, pointing to Button’s points tally and comparing it with that of team-mate Jarno Trulli.

They had a point – but only to an extent – and the longer the season went on, the less you could feel sympathy for them.

It was true that Button was usually at least a match for Trulli in races for much of the season.

And he certainly scored more points.

That, though, was largely down to Trulli suffering poorer reliability.

And when Renault insisted that they saw greater potential in Trulli, it was not difficult to see why if you were being objective.

First, there was the Italian’s qualifying record – he did Button by a ratio of three to one through the season.

And as the year developed, Trulli began to match that form in races as well.

Button did not have too much to worry about, having found a seat with BAR for 2003.

Against Jacques Villeneuve, though, things will be no easier than they were up against Trulli.

And Button will need to work hard if he is to convince people that he is more than just a very good driver – but not quite good enough to deserve another shot in a top team.