Jenson Button Snubs Lewis Hamilton to Name ‘Most Versatile’ F1 Driver

Jenson Button didn't hesitate to place Lewis Hamilton below his favorite pick for the most versatile driver on the F1 grid.

Jenson Button Snubs Lewis Hamilton to Name ‘Most Versatile’ F1 Driver

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari), Jenson Button (via Getty)

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The 2025 season seems to be very spread out amongst the top drivers in terms of performance, as multiple drivers are able to contend for race wins. While McLaren remains the dominating force, rival drivers are giving it their all and making Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris‘ lives difficult on the track. Now, 2009 F1 Champion Jenson Button reveals his pick for the driver who is the ‘most versatile’ on the grid, which surprisingly isn’t Lewis Hamilton.

Lando Norris led the drivers’ title for a very short period at the beginning of the season. However, owing to crucial mistakes on the track, he quickly lost the lead to his teammate Oscar Piastri. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is giving it his all in an extremely inferior challenger in the RB21 and has maintained his P3 spot in the pecking order. The Dutchman has achieved widespread praise and applause due to his never-giving-up attitude and extracting the maximum from the car.

Now, Jenson Button reckons Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are two very great drivers with contrasting personalities when it comes to racing. Norris’ biggest disadvantage is that he’s his own worst enemy and thinks too critically of himself when he commits a mistake. Because of this, Piastri gets an edge on the Briton and achieves better results on the track.

I think Lando and Oscar are both up there, They’re very different personalities. I think Lando can be his own worst enemy. He’s unbelievably quick, but if he makes a tiny mistake… I think he thinks about it too much.

Jenson Button said on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X

Despite the McLaren drivers being so meritorious, Jenson Button believes that Max Verstappen is still better than the duo of Piastri and Norris. The 2009 F1 champion pointed out that Verstappen is the most rounded F1 driver that has ever existed in the history of Formula 1. Button accepted that the 27-year-old hasn’t won as many championships as Lewis Hamilton yet, as the latter is still one of the best drivers in the world. Still, the 45-year-old insisted that the four-time champion could do something with a car that no other driver on the grid could.

Oscar is very level-headed. He just wants to go racing, and he wants to drive fast, and he does it very well. And my comments about Max [being the best], yeah, I feel he’s the most rounded F1 driver that there has ever been, you know?

Jenson Button added

Jenson Button claims Max Verstappen can ‘do more with the car’ than Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen hasn’t backed down in terms of performance this season despite suffering from the disappointing pace of the Red Bull challenger. The Dutchman also achieved two coveted race wins in the first 12 outings as he continues his hunt for the championship lead. Jenson Button, who remains extremely appreciative of Lewis Hamilton and his feats in F1, still placed Verstappen above the former.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)

Jenson Button emphasized that Lewis Hamilton possesses extreme talent and has achieved an extremely decorated career in Formula 1. Moreover, the 2009 Champion asserted that no other driver could break the records that Hamilton has achieved in the sport. Still, in the moment in time, Button pinpointed that Max Verstappen could extract the maximum out of a car which other drivers would find difficult.

So, extreme talent, and obviously the career he’s (Lewis Hamilton) had, I’m not sure anyone’s going to beat that, his records. But just thinking about this moment in time, I feel that Max is the one that can do more with a car than anyone else.

Jenson Button noted

Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are facing struggles in performance this year. Hamilton’s challenges come because of his debut season at Ferrari and the team being unable to give him a dominant enough car. Meanwhile, Verstappen is struggling because of Red Bull’s extremely deteriorating pace. Regardless, both drivers are now veterans in some sense, as many drivers look up to them for advice.

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