Brawn: Button will be stronger now

That is the view of his team owner Ross Brawn, who believes the fact that Button's season had both high points and low moments will actually have made him an improved man for the future.

Brawn has said he was unsure about Button's abilities when he arrived at the team, but is now in no doubt about his qualities after observing him close up.

"You don't until you work with somebody," said Brawn about how he viewed Button before he arrived at the team. "You have a superficial opinion of them and in 2004 he was giving us a hard time at Ferrari.

"We had a sensational season but he was always there nipping at our ankles. He impressed us then. He made a big impression then. But until you work with people it is difficult.

"Last year was very difficult for me to work with Jenson because of the poor equipment we had. Lots of guys in the team who I respect said, stick with it because he is exceptional.

"And I think going through this experience of the terrific first half and the very tough second half of the season is going to be quite a development in Jenson's character."

Although Button has struggled to deliver results in recent races, having not won since the Turkish Grand Prix in June, Brawn believed his stirring drive in Brazil from 14th on the grid to finish fifth showed the kind of grit only title winners are capable of.

"He drove a fantastic race," explained Brawn. "There were some close calls and a little bit either way would potentially have been the end of it. He drove a fantastic race, and again it is the contrast between a dreadful qualifying and a great race. He drove a race worthy of a world champion today."

Button admitted after the race that he had felt sick on the Saturday in Brazil when his team-mate Rubens Barrichello secured pole position, and Brawn praised the way the Briton responded.

"There is this persona that people see," he said. "Last night [on Saturday] he was destroyed. He knew that together with the team he had done a bad job and it was a golden opportunity.

"He went back and he thought, how am I going to turn this around? How am I going to put myself in a position to win the world championship? He came in on race morning really determined and I was impressed."

And although Button's future at the team it not yet settled, with he and his team having not yet agreed on financial terms for next year, Brawn says with the world title settled contract talks can now start in earnest.

"We can now sit down and start to sort it out. We missed the window of opportunity to sort it out in the summer, and now this is done, Nick [Fry] and I will be sitting down with the drivers in the next few weeks to sort it out."