Ex-F1 World Champion snubs Ferrari, claims Mercedes will be Red Bull’s closest challenger in 2024

Mercedes beat Ferrari to second place in 2023, prevailing in the final race at Abu Dhabi.

Ex-F1 World Champion snubs Ferrari, claims Mercedes will be Red Bull’s closest challenger in 2024

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Via: IMAGO)

Red Bull has been undefeated for the past two seasons, taking both titles consecutively in dominant fashion. The Milton Keyes-based team has won 34 of the past 44 races, a record for any team in history.

Ferrari was closest to the champion team in 2022 and battled closely with Mercedes for the second-place spot far behind Red Bull in 2023. However, 2009 World Champion Jenson Button believes that Mercedes will have a better chance of catching the team in 2024, as the team has a revolutionary new W15 coming in 2024.

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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 [for 2024]. You could say Ferrari were the closest competitor especially towards the end of the season, but I think Mercedes will have a good improvement [for 2024].
Jenson Button said, as reported by RacingNews365

Ferrari and Mercedes had a showdown until the final lap in 2023, fighting over second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Mercedes managed to clinch the spot after a dismal race for Carlos Sainz, by just three points.

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Jenson Button names strongest driver pairings on F1 grid

Jenson Button is an accomplished driver, with numerous races and a title win in F1 to his name. Button worked alongside many World Champions, most notably including Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, both at McLaren.

Jenson Button will drive the Williams FW14B (Credits: The Economic Times)
Jenson Button (Credits: The Economic Times)

Button named the strongest partnership of drivers on the current F1 grid to be Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell competing on a very similar level across the past two years. Button also gave credit to the new McLaren pairing which featured Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri in 2023.

Mercedes, can’t go past those two. I know Lewis, we were team-mates for three years, and for George to get as close as he has to Lewis is impressive. But in terms of the young guns at McLaren, super strong.
Jenson Button said, via PlanetF1

There are many solid pairings on the grid outside of Mercedes and McLaren. Most notable is Ferrari, but less prominent teams like Haas and Alpine also have drivers competing at the same level as their counterparts.

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