Jenson Button believes only three current Formula 1 drivers would be able to challenge Lewis Hamilton for the championship.
The Briton is on course to secure his sixth world title in seven years this year, potentially as early as this Sunday at the Turkish Grand Prix, an achievement that would see him tie Michael Schumacher with seven championships overall.
And given the advantage Hamilton’s Mercedes team has had since 2014, while Nico Rosberg of course defeated Lewis in 2016, Button only sees his former McLaren teammate adding to that number going forward.
“Comparing records is a tricky one,” he told Motorsport.com, commenting on how Hamilton compares to Schumacher.
“We all like a number and we all like to beat a number, but it’s really difficult to compare.
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“All you can say is he’s done the best job he can and the team have done a fantastic job, they’ve not been beaten in the hybrid era and Lewis has won all but one Championship with them.
“I don’t see that changing either. It’s going to continue until he stops, or until he gets a teammate that can actually challenge him.”
Indeed, after Rosberg retired at the end of 2016, Hamilton has been unstoppable, with his current Mercedes partner Valtteri Bottas simply unable to match the 35-year-old.
“He’s definitely learned from his teammates, and he’s definitely a more rounded driver than when we were teammates, but if he had a teammate like Max [Verstappen], we would see a different driver from Lewis,” Button continued.
“He needs to have that challenge, otherwise he’ll just keep doing the same thing and he’s going to keep winning the Championship.
“He needs somebody that’s going to challenge him and Mercedes. You can’t blame them because it’s easier if they’ve got one guy who is quicker than the other.
“I know Valtteri gets close in qualifying and sometimes out-qualifies him, but race pace compared to Lewis this year, he’s nowhere near him.”
As for who he would like to see at Mercedes, the 2009 world champion cast doubt on the driver seen as first in line for a future move, and offered an interesting suggestion for who could be most effective against Hamilton.
“I don’t think George [Russell] is ready to be up against Lewis yet, there aren’t many drivers that are,” Button admitted.
“Max, Charles [Leclerc] and Daniel Ricciardo – that’s it I reckon, those are the guys that are ready to challenge Lewis.
“I’d love to see Danny Ric up against Lewis because I think he would mentally hurt Lewis a lot,” he added.
“He would be quick and he would laugh everything off, he would be so relaxed, so down to earth, he’s a proper character and I know that most drivers would find that difficult.”
