© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Jenson Button believes Mercedes will be Red Bull’s main challenger in 2024, and adds Lewis Hamilton is “even better now than he was five or six years ago”, and that’s “tough” for his opponents.
While discussing the 2024 season on Sky Sports F1, 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button was asked which team is most likely to take the fight to Red Bull.
“Mercedes,” the Briton said.
“When you look at the last 10 years in the sport, it’s Mercedes and Red Bull, so it would be Mercedes.
“I would love to say Ferrari, I would love to have them in the mix. You could say they were the closest competitor especially towards the end of the season, but I think Mercedes will have a good improvement. Whether it’s enough, I don’t know.”
Button added his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton now, after two disappointing season, is better than ever.
“When you’ve won for so many years and then suddenly that’s taken away from you, it can work in two different ways…
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“One, you are just like: ‘Well, there’s no point anymore, I want to retire, I’ve been at the peak for so long and now I’ve not won a race in two years.’
“But also it can make you more hungry to get back to that, and Lewis is in that position right now I think.
“Lewis is as good as ever I would say in terms of his outright speed, but also now he seems much more comfortable in himself and confident in his ability, so he makes fewer mistakes.
“So he’s even better now than he was five or six years ago. That’s tough [for his opponents].
“If he gets a car that’s competitive enough to fight for victories, when someone’s that strong and that confident in themselves it’s difficult to beat, as you can see with Max Verstappen right now,” the Button concluded.
