Button: Personally, I wouldn’t want to be Max’s partner

Lewis Hamilton’s words, during the Italian race weekend on Sky Sports, that Max Verstappen did not have and does not have strong partners, were commented on by Jenson Button.

He once drove with Lewis for McLaren for three seasons, but emphasized that he would personally be even more afraid of Max if he were his partner, and not the seven-time world champion.

Lewis then literally said the following: “When I was half a second or six tenths ahead of Valtteri Bottas in qualifying, the press did not say the same thing as they say today when Max is six tenths ahead of Sergio Perez. Now everything is much inflated.

Personally, I think Valtteri and all my teammates were stronger than Max’s teammates. Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Valtteri, Nico Rosberg. There were many and they were all very strong and stable riders, while Max did not have such a teammate.”

Jenson Button is speaking at Goodwood these days at a racing festival dedicated to the history of motor racing, and a Sky Sports reporter asked him to comment on what Hamilton said.

“I think Lewis had very strong teammates, including world champions. And Max really didn’t have that, but personally I would be more afraid of Max if we had the same cars,” emphasized the 2009 world champion. “I think the point is that the Red Bull car was made specifically for his driving style. Or he knows how to drive the car that Adrian Newey makes available to him.

I imagine Adrian Newey telling him, “This is the fastest car in the world! But if you try to reduce the downforce at the front, it will go slower, even though it will be easier to drive.”

And Max replies, “Okay, so I have to learn to drive the car with the settings you intended when you made it. And I have to go as fast as I can.”

I think Max is very good at this, although many other riders have problems trying to compete with him. I understand I gave a long answer, but this is a difficult question. Overall, Lewis had strong partners, but personally I wouldn’t want to be Max’s partner.

But they are all incredibly talented drivers, the best in the world and among the very best to ever drive in Formula 1. I wish the battle for wins between Max, Lewis and Fernando Alonso was more intense – these are the ones I would pick out three. But in Formula 1 there is a competition between technologies and we have to admit that Red Bull is now outperforming others in this area.”