Jenson Button made a TV appearance as he noted that he felt Lewis Hamilton will be on the grid this year plus added on his time with him.
Button appeared on the ITV’s Good Morning Britain show alongside TV mechanic Ant Antstead to discuss their revival of the Radford Motors car coachbuilding brand. However, presenters Adil Ray and Susanna Reid were eager to find out the “inside scoop” on the status of the seven-time F1 champion.
Fans are ‘speculating’ of Hamilton to be retiring from the sport following the controversial defeat at the Abu Dhabi GP, and ensuing silence on social media and absence from public life ever since, even though there is no credible news on the same.
While noting that rumours to be somewhat unsubstantiated, his friend and former teammate Button spoke on the “freedom” that driving around a race track gives one, and talked of Hamilton’s incredible raw speed that he found racing against him.
“It’s about pushing the car to its limits, it’s also that freedom – it’s about you, the car, the road – and that is what I love, it doesn’t matter what strengths I had in my racing career,” started Button. “When I closed my visor and headed out of the pit lane it was the most peaceful place for me, it doesn’t sound like it would be at 220mph but it was so peaceful.
“In my career I had the speed, but for example in Qualifying in an F1 race weekend I wouldn’t be as quick as Lewis [Hamilton] but I could work my way around the setup of the car to be as quick in the races, if not quicker. I do know I was the only person to interview Lewis after the last race [in the parc ferme]
“The whole world heard the interview, so I haven’t got the inside scoop but I really do hope he’ll be racing. I think he will be racing because he really wants to win that eighth title and be the most decorated driver in F1 history, and he will do that.
“It was a controversial end to the season but I think you need to look at the season as a whole. Formula 1 is in an amazing place. Two fantastic drivers going at it every weekend, and I think everyone’s excited about the new season [and] new regulations, it’s all about the development of these cars through the year,” summed up Button.
The story was written by Danny Herbert
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