F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Button admits to one weakness relative to Hamilton and Alonso

Jenson Button raced against and defeated the best in F1, but the 2009 world champion has admitted to one specific weakness relative to former rivals and teammates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Button and Hamilton raced togather at McLaren between 2010 and 2012, while the Briton was paired with Alonso at the Woking-based outfit for two seasons, in 2015 and 2016.

He was therefore given an opportunity to measure up against F1's two superstars, but also to appreciate the full array of their qualities as F1 drivers.

"My greatest weakness was I wasn’t willing to move on from a bad weekend," Button recalled on The High Performance podcast.

"But I feel I’ve definitely got over that. One thing I haven’t been able to get over is driving a bad car, that’s my weakness.

"Lewis and Fernando Alonso can jump in a bad car and get more out of it than I can – that’s probably my weakness."

As far as Button's own strengths are concerned, the 15-time Grand Prix winner reckons that his specific style gave him an edge in particular circumstances.

"Strength is…the way I drive is very different to most," he said.

“For example, Lewis, comes into a corner – it’s great because I have all the speed traces from the data when we were team-mates – hammers the brake as hard as he can, there’s no modulation.

"He turns into the corner, goes onto the throttle, the same amount of pressure every time, it’s linear, and he does everything through the steering wheel.

"I was the complete opposite. I would brake and modulate it to stop front-locking, and I would come on the throttle and modulate the throttle so I didn’t have to change my steering angle, so I’d be smooth on the steering."

And when track conditions were bad, Button's signature smoothness proved to be an advantage, as he typically felt the car through his "bum".

"They would say ‘oh, he looks so smooth’. It’s just because that’s what I’d use, very differently to someone like Lewis," he added.

"That hurt me in some ways, but it helped me in those mixed conditions, [to] really feel the conditions underneath me.

"Modulating the brake when you come under braking, you won’t lock up as much. You don’t want steering angle in the wet because it’s very easy to lose the rear and modulating the throttle is key as well because it controls that.

"I felt the car through my bum a lot more than others. A lot of people would see it’s wet and drive to what they see, whereas I would drive to what I felt and that’s where my strength was in those mixed conditions.

"And half of my victories in F1 were in mixed conditions. I’m not saying I like those conditions, nobody likes it, I just did better than others."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Why Verstappen isn’t expecting much running at F1’s first test

Max Verstappen has never been one to sugar-coat reality – and as Formula 1 braces…

1 hour ago

Revolut’s CMO slams Ferrari: ‘How can you put blue on a red car?’

Ferrari have survived decades of criticism about strategy calls, driver politics and pit stops that…

3 hours ago

Mercedes 2026 advantage in doubt after concerning claim

While the paddock has been whispering for months that Mercedes might be holding the winning…

4 hours ago

Our salute on this day to Big Dan

Dan Gurney passed away on this day in 2018, and here at F1i we'll never…

5 hours ago

Jules Bianchi’s final kart recovered after theft

What began as a painful reminder of loss has ended with a moment of profound…

6 hours ago

Tsunoda in limbo: Honda reveals no 2026 Red Bull contract in place

Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 story was supposed to have reached a holding pattern by now…

8 hours ago