McLaren F1 Development Changes “Mentally Injured” Lewis Hamilton: Jenson Button

Being Lewis Hamilton’s teammate is one of the worst scenarios for any F1 driver on the grid. To run second best in almost every race, as if fighting with others wasn’t enough, is mentally exhausting.

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Just ask Valtteri Bottas, Heikki Kovalainen, Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg. However, a man who defeated him during their time together showed how he did it.

From 2010 to 2012, Jenson Button was Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at McLaren, creating a British super team. In the course of their three seasons together, he managed to outperform Hamilton. Something that now seems almost unimaginable.

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VALENCIA, SPAIN – AUGUST 21: Jenson Button (R) from Great Britain and Brawn GP speak to his race engineer Andrew Shovlin as he prepares during practice for the European Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Valencia Street Circuit on 21 August 2009 to drive Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)

So what was his secret? “It was important for me to get a team behind me. I jump in a car and if it doesn’t suit my style it just doesn’t work for me. I am not one of those drivers.

“I need a car that was developed around me and the support of the team around me to develop it in my direction,” Button told Sky Sports F1. (via PlanetF1)

“I did that and it worked for me. I think that hurt Lewis a little mentally at certain points in our time together. “

Button compares Lewis Hamilton with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso

Hamilton wasn’t the only respected world champion to share the garage with Button. The 2009 Brawn GP rider raced alongside Fernando Alonso during the unfortunate McLaren-Honda spell in 2015 and 2016.

So he observed the two of them up close and is the right person to draw a comparison: “Fernando was a clever old fox. He knew exactly what to do to win.

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“He had the speed, but he also understood the strategy and knew what to do with the engineers to get them on his side. Lewis was straightforward, super fast and could drive anything he was put in, really …

“Back then he only drove every lap at full speed, and now he understands what he has to do to get the most out of the car from A to B.”

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – OCTOBER 18: (LR) Mclaren Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain and Fernando Alonso from Spain appear at the driver press conference during the preview before the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)

That just tells you how much the current Mercedes metronome has grown over the past 10 years. He has become arguably the most complete rider on the grid. While some may feel like he’s not unbeatable, all stars will have to line up with a specific racing weekend to overcome it.

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