Hamiltons speed more than Buttons

Chris Wheal

Mar 8th 2010

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Online insurer Elephant.co.uk has calculated which of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will win the F1 title this year by looking at its own insured drivers called Button or Hamilton.

Drivers on elephant's books called Button are more likely than Hamiltons to cause an accident. And, it looks like Hamilton could be faster around the track than Button too, as Hamiltons are more likely to be caught speeding than Buttons. They ride like they're in a race.

But it's not green lights all the way for Hamilton. When it comes to the start of a race, it seems Hamilton could run the risk of a false start. His namesakes have more convictions for running traffic lights than Buttons.

Winning formula

Elephant.co.uk managing director, Brian Martin, said, "With the first Formula 1 race kicking off in Bahrain next month, we thought we'd have a bit of fun and see if our data could give us any clues to who will take the title.

"If our findings are anything to go by and the driving records of motorists on our books hold any clues, my money would be on Hamilton. Although he runs the risk of a false start, he's less likely to crash than Button and should be quite a bit faster around the track."

Here comes Schumacher

Elephant.co.uk says: "Let's not forget Schumacher. According to our figures, the comeback king could be a good bet. People sharing his surname beat both Hamilton and Button for speeding.

"On top of this, none of the Schumachers elephant insures have made a claim and none have been caught jumping the lights. However, that could be because elephant doesn't have hundreds of Schumachers on its books!"

I had to ask. Elephant.co.uk insures about 1700 Hamiltons, just under 200 Buttons and only a dozen Schumachers. But this is still in pole position to be my favourite use of insurance statistics.