Jenson Button refuses to predict one thing after Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move

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Lewis Hamilton has dominated headlines for the past year with his move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season as the Briton now realises a childhood dream to race in red.

The 40-year-old stunned the paddock a year ago when Hamilton announced he was to leave Mercedes for Ferrari following the 2024 Formula 1 season. Two winless terms and a possible show of limited faith by the Silver Arrows was enough for Hamilton to bounce from Brackley.

Hamilton only signed a contract to stay at Mercedes in 2024 and 2025 back in August 2023. But as the deal was effectively a one-plus-one-year contract, the seven-time champion took advantage of the break to agree a two-year deal with the Scuderia and replace Carlos Sainz.

Cameras and fans have been close to hand ever since Hamilton wore the famous Ferrari red for the first time this January. More than 5,000 fans visited Fiorano as Hamilton shook down Ferrari’s 2025 car, the SF-25, which he hopes proves to be a title contender to lift his eighth.

Jenson Button refuses to predict how Lewis Hamilton will perform at Ferrari

But while Hamilton has moved from Mercedes to Maranello in search of his record-breaking eighth F1 drivers’ championship, his ex-McLaren teammate Jenson Button refuses to predict how the Stevenage-born star will perform at Ferrari. They were teammates from 2010-2012.

READ MORE: Seven best drives of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes career before Ferrari move

Button joined Hamilton at McLaren and proved to be the only driver to outscore the latter in the same car over their affiliation on 672 to 657 points. So, the 2009 champion knows what it takes to beat Hamilton, who Button thinks will face a challenge partnering Charles Leclerc.

“I don’t want to judge how Lewis will perform at Ferrari,” Button said, via Speedweek. “The fact is that he moved to Charles’ team and he hasn’t moved to another team in 12 years. It will probably take some time for him to settle in.

“And at Ferrari, the pressure is always high. It’s a big story with Lewis in red but it won’t be easy for him. He will have considered that when he decided to move. In any case, all eyes will be on Lewis and Ferrari at some point.”

Mercedes do not think Lewis Hamilton’s new Ferrari is that good

While Button refuses to predict how his old teammate will perform racing in red, Mercedes do not think Hamilton’s new Ferrari is that good. Day one of this year’s sole pre-season test in Bahrain on Wednesday did not show the Silver Arrows that the Scuderia have a great car.

Hamilton has looked rejuvenated since joining Ferrari, though, so will hope what Mercedes believe their engineers detected with the SF-25 in Sakhir is not true. Mercedes will also not know how strong Ferrari truly are until qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on March 15.