Former Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has outlined a possible ranking of who could be the primary rival to Red Bull in the upcoming season. According to the 2009 world champion, Lewis Hamilton could be a formidable opponent for the Anglo-Austrian team if Mercedes manages to get the project right after the unsuccessful W13 and W14. However, in the list of the former British driver, Ferrari is not included.
Jenson Button snubs Ferrari and bets on Mercedes
“If you look at the last ten years of F1, only Red Bull or Mercedes have been winning, so I say Mercedes,” commented Button on Sky Sports F1.
“I’d like to say Ferrari. It would be great if they were also in the fight, and to be honest, in the final of 2023, Ferrari was very competitive. But I believe Mercedes will improve the car a lot in 2024. Whether it will be enough to challenge Red Bull, I don’t know.”
Considering the latter part of last season, the balance seems to tilt towards Ferrari, even though the prancing horse lost the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship against Mercedes in the final laps in Abu Dhabi.
“The discussion about Hamilton is simple: when you win for many years and then get beaten, you can either ‘sit’ and accept a downward trajectory or react,” added the Briton.
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“I think Hamilton is even stronger than 5-6 years ago. So, with a competitive Mercedes, he can be very challenging to beat, just as it is currently difficult to get the better of Verstappen.” – he pointed out.
Also, keep an eye on McLaren, which impressed in 2023 with the exponential growth not only in the car but also in both drivers: “Piastri will benefit from having a year of experience in F1 behind him. He has shown that he can keep up with Lando Norris, but he lacked consistency in performance. It couldn’t be otherwise since it was his debut.” – the 2009 Formula 1 world champion concluded.
The young Australian talent is the only one to have won a race for the Woking-based team last year, albeit in a sprint race. However, Lando Norris’s season was also impressive, with the Englishman securing seven podiums from Silverstone onwards and often causing trouble for Max Verstappen.
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