“He will never play dirty”- Jenson Button is full of praises about his former opponent Lewis Hamilton, who has gone on to achieve a lot.
Jenson Button for a few years competed against Lewis Hamilton, though they are from different generations, as Button was already entering into the last phase of his career while Hamilton was in the initial days of his career in F1.
The former McLaren driver was full of praises about Hamilton, for whom he is the cleanest person he has ever met in the sport and appreciates his growth as a person.
“I think he’s quite a shy character,” Button responded when asked by GQ Magazine to share something about Hamilton. You can probably see that.
“I don’t know Lewis now that well [but] Lewis in 2012 was an extremely talented driver, whose whole life was about racing. I had to work so hard to beat him, and obviously it didn’t happen all the time. But it happened enough that I was happy with what I achieved.
“On balance he out-qualified me, but I could race him, and use my head because it wasn’t all about driving flat-out in a grand prix. It isn’t now. But Lewis has learnt a lot since then. He’s always looking after the tyres, the fuel, the car… he knows what he’s doing.”
Button applauds Hamilton for using his platform to further Black rights and believes everyone should be a fan of his, even if they don’t like him as a person, because he doesn’t race dirty or play mind games with rival drivers.
“He’s in a position now where he can relax and think about other things in addition to driving the car. He can be very outspoken and I think it’s great that he is. It will help the sport and the diversity of the sport.
“Whether or not you’re a fan of Lewis as a person, you should definitely be a fan of him as a driver.
“He is exceptionally talented, and he does not play games. He will never play dirty. In fact, I think he’s the cleanest guy I ever raced against.”
