Jenson Button reveals how he mentally hurt Lewis Hamilton at McLaren

Jenson Button reveals how he mentally hurt Lewis Hamilton at McLaren

Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton

Jenson Button, former F1 champion joined McLaren in 2010, as he won the championship in 2009 with Brawn GP. He partnered with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, and both drivers were one of the most sorted out names in F1 at that time.

Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful drivers in F1 history, having won the title on seven occasions. Jenson Button, his former teammate at McLaren revealed how Hamilton’s personality differed from that of Fernando Alonso, when the two were teammates at McLaren.

“Lewis was a World Champion when we were team-mates and also quite young,” Button said. “He was a lot less experienced than the likes of Fernando Alonso at the time,” he added.

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“Fernando was a wily old fox. He knew exactly what he needed to do to win. He had the speed but he also understood strategy and he knew what he had to do with the engineers to get them on his side,” said the Briton.

“Lewis was straightforward, super-quick and could drive anything you put him in, really. They were very different from each other but I think the Lewis now is very different to back then. He has the experience,” he continued.

I don’t know about playing mind games with Lewis Hamilton: Jenson Button

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Jenson Button revealed that unlike, Nico Rosberg, he never played mind games with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. On the other hand, Nico Rosberg played mind games with Hamilton at Mercedes, which helped him win the F1 title in 2016.

“I don’t know about playing mind games with him. The important thing for me was to get a team behind me,” Button reasoned.

Jenson Button stated that the main objective for him was to propel the team forward, and not work on his own incentives.

“I jump into a car and if it isn’t suited to my style then it just doesn’t work for me. I’m not one of those drivers. I need a car developed around me and the team support around me to develop it in my direction,” he added.

“That’s what I did, and it worked for me. I think that mentally hurt Lewis a little bit at certain points of our time together but when Lewis probably has an issue or a bad weekend now, he will go away, think about it and come back. It’s just his job,” Button concluded.

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