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Jenson Button admits that he would be “more fearful” of Max Verstappen than anyone else in the same machinery.
Ex-World Champion Button believes he would be more fearful against Verstappen than anyone else. (Credit Image: © Photo4/Lapresse via ZUMA Press)Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, has admitted that Max Verstappen would be his biggest competition if he was competing in the same machinery. His comments were in response to the fact that Lewis Hamilton has stated that he believes he has had ‘harder to beat teammates’ than Verstappen.
“I think Lewis has had some very tough team-mates. But, for me, I would be more fearful going up against Max in the same car”
This isn’t the first time Hamilton has commented about Verstappen, teammates and equal machinery. Recently, the Mercedes driver stated that he thinks he would be giving Verstappen a harder time than Perez if he was in that second Red Bull car.
Why Button thinks Verstappen should be “feared”…
Jenson Button gave his reasons as to why Verstappen is so strong in his current set-up at Red Bull. As reported by SkySports.com.
“I think it is because the car is designed around his style, or he can drive a car that Adrian Newey gives him.”
Adrian Newey, the chief technical officer at Red Bull is known for his engineering ingenuity.
“Adrian Newey gives him a car that says ‘this is the quickest car in the world. If you take away front downforce, it will go slower but be easier to drive”.
Button then hints that the reason why Max is so good is that he can adapt and learn to drive the car, even if it is tricky.
“Max is like ‘right, I have to drive how you made this car and I need to drive it as good as I can’. I think he’s very good at that and I think a lot of drivers struggle to compete with that.”
That’s why, as a teammate, Max can be so hard to go up against as other drivers can’t quite grasp the set-up.
Button names top three drivers
In his remarks, Jenson Button also shared who thinks the best three drivers on the grid are. It won’t surprise you.
“I wish there was more competition at the front between Max, Lewis and Fernando. Those are the three that stand out for me.”
The British driver then acknowledges that although those drivers are exceptional, it’s hard to beat the Red Bull machine.
“It’s a technology race and Red Bull, fair play to them, they are doing a better job right now.”
Feature Image Credit: Getty Images via Formula1.com
