FORMULA ONE
The longest barren run for Britain is over after Jenson Button finally lived up to the hype to win the Hungarian Grand Prix. And about time too.
Button had gone 112 races without a win, an eternity in Formula One terms and an unfair reflection on the talent of a driver many predict will one day win the world championship.
The pressure was building on the 26-year-old, only exacerbated by a 63-race winning drought for Britain, a nation with nearly 200 grands prix wins in the record books.
Button's speed has never been in doubt, even back in the dark days when he was axed by Renault, with boss Flavio Briatore accusing him of enjoying a playboy lifestyle.
He has worked tirelessly to shed that tag but, without a win to his name, perceptions were hard to shift. That all changed on a cold, damp day in Budapest.
How Button took so long to stand on the top step of the podium remains one of Formula One's enduring mysteries.
His consummate displays in 2004 on his way to third in the championship should have brought a victory. Many drivers blame bad luck, for Button it has been a lack of luck.
The Englishman's break-through season coincided with a bullet-proof and utterly dominant Ferrari. Fine performances are one thing, but in Formula One, only winners count.
With his team struggling for the past 18 months, a win seemed further away than ever and he risked becoming a nearly man - a Tim Henman for Formula One.
All that talk is banished to history now and rising star Lewis Hamilton can take a step back after briefly jumping ahead of Button as the man most likely to deliver the next title for Britain.
But it is not just Button who should be celebrating the most long-awaited win in Formula One history.
The sport badly needs a British winner to add spice to a show which all too often does little to excite on a Sunday afternoon.
Formula One may be the biggest annual global sporting event but at heart it is British and more than a few champagne corks were popping around the bars of Budapest.
Here was the day many had waited for since 2000 - six years of false hope and frustration. But for all the celebration, that maiden victory is just the first step on Button's path to the world championship.
Victory in Hungary should be just the start for a driver with over 100 races behind him, and 10 years at the top still ahead of him. He made Britain wait. Now he can make up for lost time.
