Button sees Hamilton ‘back at his best’ in new F1 era

F1 world champion Jenson Button believes that Lewis Hamilton is poised to flip the script and reignite his championship fire with Ferrari in the coming season.

Hamilton’s first year with the Scuderia was anything but a fairy tale. The transition from Mercedes red to Ferrari red brought turbulence instead of triumph, with flashes of promise repeatedly slipping through his fingers.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc capitalized on the same machinery far more consistently, leaving Hamilton trailing by a daunting 86-point margin by season’s end. For a driver whose career has been defined by relentless excellence, it was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable chapter.

Yet, as Formula 1 prepares to usher in a sweeping new rulebook, Button sees opportunity rather than omen. The regulatory reset, he argues, could be the exact jolt Hamilton needs — a clean slate for both man and machine.

A Season That Stung – But Not the End of the Story

F1’s ground-effect was not been kind to Hamilton. Ever since the closing curtain fell on the hybrid dominance years, extracting peak performance has proven an uphill battle. Ferrari’s 2025 campaign showed moments of brilliance, but strong results eluded the British superstar.

The numbers painted a harsh picture, but the emotional toll was even more visible.

Button did not shy away from acknowledging how difficult it was to witness his former McLaren team-mate struggle:

“It was tough. I have to say, watching Lewis in 2025," Button told Sky Sports F1.

"We were team-mates for three years. I understand how good he is. So it was really tough to see him struggle with the team and you could see it in his face how much it was hurting.

"You kind of forget everything else he's achieved at that moment in time because you just see the pain. But I think with the new regulation changes, we will see Lewis Hamilton back to his best, I really do."

• Read also: Leclerc ‘very excited’ – eager to bring Ferrari back on top

Those words carry weight. Button isn’t just another pundit — he shared a garage with Hamilton for three fiercely competitive seasons between 2010 and 2012, arriving at McLaren as the reigning 2009 world champion and going toe-to-toe with Hamilton in one of the grid’s most compelling internal rivalries.

He knows firsthand the level Hamilton can reach when the conditions align.

New Rules, New Energy, New Hamilton?

The buzz around 2026 isn’t just marketing hype; it’s a technical earthquake. New aerodynamic philosophies and power unit adjustments promise to reshuffle the competitive order.

For Hamilton, that upheaval could be a gift. Unlike his rushed integration in 2025, the coming season gives him something he lacked before: influence.

Button highlighted exactly why that matters:

"He's gonna have input in how the car is designed," Button continued. "And have confidence in him taking it in a direction that works for him. So I hope to see that.

"We want to see Ferrari at the front and we all want to see Lewis fighting at the front again."

That input could be the secret sauce. A car shaped around Hamilton’s feedback – his braking style, corner entry preferences, and race-long tyre management instincts – might finally unlock the synergy Ferrari and Hamilton both envisioned when they joined forces.

The storyline now carries a big sense of anticipation. Ferrari, Formula 1’s most storied name, paired with one of the sport’s most decorated drivers, entering a fresh technical era together.

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