SUMMARY
- Jenson Button gives his take on Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari.
- Lewis Hamilton will have his work cut out for him alongside Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton is going to Ferrari. This is something that most of the fans have not processed yet. There is no doubt that most F1 fans did not expect this move to happen. Over the years, Lewis has showcased his loyalty to Mercedes. However, he now seems to have lost his faith in the team with this announcement.
With the world still trying to calm down over this news, Jenson Button has given his take on the matter. button currently resides in Los Angeles. So he basically woke up in the middle of the chaos that was happening on the other side of the world.
Jenson Button gives his take on Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari
Jenson Button seems to think that Hamilton is looking for a new challenge in Ferrari. After spending over a decade with Mercedes, Hamilton will be sitting in a red car from the 2025 season.
“[After] 12 years at Mercedes, that’s longer than most people spend in Formula 1. To spend it with one team and achieve what they have, maybe he’s also wanted something different to spice it up a little bit,”
By joining Ferrari, Lewis will face a new challenge. He will no longer be racing in his team. At the moment, Charles Leclerc is the star driver for the team. He has been with the team since the 2019 season. There is no doubt that he will understand the car better than Lewis in 2025. However, will Hamilton’s overall experience and success with Mercedes be enough to outperform Charles?
Back in 2022, we saw Charles compete for the championship in the first half of the season. Although Ferrari did face some reliability issues in the second half of the season, Charles did manage to finish 2nd. During that season, he showed that he does have the potential to win a championship.
This will be a challenge for Hamilton as he tries to win his 8th Championship with Ferrari. The 7-time Champion will be looking to emulate the success of Schumacher, and not repeat what Sebastian Vettel and Alonso did after joining Ferrari.
While Schumacher did manage to bring a tremendous amount of success with Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, and Fernando Alonso were not able to win the Championship while wearing the red outfit. It will be interesting to see how Hamilton compares to Charles’ performance in Ferrari from the 2025 season.
There is also the matter of the empty seat in Mercedes. As it stands, there are several drivers who could take this spot in 2025.
When did Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button become teammates in F1?
Until the 2008 season, Jenson Button was just some ordinary driver in F1. However, the 2009 season put him back on the radar. In 2009, he drove for Brawn GP with whom he won the Championship. After that, he became a hot property for F1 teams. After Mercedes took over for Brawn GP in 2010, Jenson Button signed a contract with McLaren to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton.
“You see the red Ferrari and you think, I want to race for that team” 🔴
Jenson Button says the move to Ferrari will be a ‘special one’ for Lewis Hamilton ⏩ pic.twitter.com/fd0t6zLk0J
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 1, 2024
Button and Lewis were teammates at McLaren from 2010 to 2012. During this time, Hamilton managed to outperform Button 2 times in 2010 and 2012. In 2011, Jenson was able to beat Hamilton and finish ahead. However, during this time, McLaren did not have the strongest car. This prevented both their drivers from challenging for the Championship.
After Lewis left the team in 2012 to join Mercedes, Button remained with McLaren until the end of his career. His last season in F1 occurred in 2016. However, he did return in 2017 to replace Fernando Alonso for a single race. The 2017 Monaco GP was the last F1 race for Jenson.