Jenson Button will start his 300th Formula 1 start at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, and looking back on his illustrious career he singled out Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as the best.
Button told GPUpdate, “I’ve had three World Champions as team-mates. Lewis for me is the quickest, but for me the most complete is Fernando. At that particular time, when we’ve been team-mates.”
“Now, I don’t know. I don’t know where Lewis is. I feel as though Lewis has grown as a driver. I think he’s in more of a comfortable situation.”
“When we were team-mates he could get flustered quite easily if I was working with the team well or I suddenly pulled out a good lap in qualifying. He seems to be a lot more relaxed and confident in himself now.”
As for uncomfortable situations with teammates, he recalled, “In terms of [bad] atmosphere, probably Ralf Schumacher or Jacques Villeneuve. I was young and they didn’t like a young driver being in the team. It was probably more difficult with Jacques. But mid-season it was fine, the atmosphere was great, and we had a lot of fun.”
“In terms of outright pace, Lewis. He could be massively quick in qualifying and you’d think: Where the hell did that come from? But he could also be a long way off. You could see his talent, but it wasn’t controlled enough, it felt.”
“Suddenly you think you’re going to beat him in qualifying and then he beats you by four tenths. But in the race he disappears, you’re leading, and you’re like: Where’s he gone?”
“It was inconsistent, but unbelievably quick. Possibly the quickest guy to drive a Formula 1 car, maybe [Ayrton] Senna, you can never compare really, that I’ve seen race.”
“In terms of the most-rounded driver, it would be Fernando. In terms of the way he works with the team, he’s very intelligent and he knows how to get his way! But also the way he works with the car in a race.”
“In a race situation, he’s always there, whether he’s in front of you or behind you, he’s always right there. You can’t get rid of him! I’ve had some really good team-mates,” added Button.
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