As Formula 1 prepares for another year of intense competition, 2009 world champion Jenson Button has singled out Mercedes as having the strongest chance of challenging Red Bull's dominance in 2024.
Max Verstappen's remarkable third title in 2023 solidified Red Bull's position as the team to beat, but the battle for supremacy behind the Dutchman remains as fiercely contested as ever.
While Aston Martin initially appeared to have the second-fastest car, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren all mounted a strong challenge throughout the season, with the Brackley squad ultimately claiming second place in the constructors' championship.
Despite its disappointing winless campaign, Button believes Mercedes is poised for a resurgence thanks to its strong foundation, built on the team’s relentless pursuit of improvement and its wealth of experience.
“Mercedes. When you look at the last 10 years in the sport, it's Mercedes and Red Bull, so it would be Mercedes,” Button replied when asked by Sky Sports to name the bulls’ strongest challenger.
“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]. Whether it's enough, I don't know.”
For the first time in the history of F1, there are no changes to the teams’ driver lineups compared to last year.
However, Button has picked out several notable partnerships among Red Bull's competitors, including precisely Mercedes’ duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
“There are some seriously strong driver line-ups,” he commented. “Mercedes, can't go past those two. I know Lewis, we were teammates for three years, and for George to get as close as he has to Lewis is impressive.”
But the Briton is also banking on McLaren young guns Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to unleash a storm on their rivals.
“In terms of the young guns at McLaren, super strong,” Button continued. “Oscar with a year under his belt, he'll have more consistency going into the 2024 season.
“He had glimpses of greatness [in 2023] obviously but then consistency just wasn't there, I think he ended up with less than half the points of Lando.
"But coming into a second season he's got that under his belt, I think he'll be competitive. So those two drivers will definitely push McLaren forward a bit as well.”
Formula 1’s pre-season testing in Bahrain will kick off on February 21, while the opening round of the 2024 season will take place at Sakhir a week later on March 2.
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