Jenson Button once named the only driver who could ‘stop’ Lewis Hamilton after retiring from F1

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Before the introduction of the new 2022 Formula 1 regulations, Lewis Hamilton was a very tough driver to beat at the wheel of a Mercedes F1 car.

The number of records that Hamilton set at the wheel of a Silver Arrow is insurmountable. The pairing saw the British driver top the legendary Michael Schumacher in several categories, including the most Grand Prix victories, podiums, pole positions and fastest laps at a single team.

To put things into perspective, of the 14,230 laps that Hamilton raced in for Mercedes, he led just under 30% of them, averaging a third-place finish over his 12-year tenure with the German constructor.

His recent move to Ferrari has shown shades of the formerly dominant Hamilton. Despite this, Hamilton isn’t too far off his record from his final season at Mercedes, with 2024 proving to be a tough final year for the British driver as a Silver Arrow.

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

Jenson Button saw Max Verstappen as the only driver who could stop Lewis Hamilton back in 2019

On page 292 of Jenson Button’s book, How to be an F1 driver (2019), the former McLaren driver named the one driver who he thought could dethrone Hamilton during his formidable period of dominance with Mercedes as Max Verstappen.

“The Lewis Hamilton I know is a great person, but I think a lot of people in F1 don’t get him because he leads a very different lifestyle, and I think he’s looked upon as being quite American in his outlook,” Button wrote.

“What his detractors forget, though, is that he’s got a lot of people interested in the sport who weren’t interested before, and a lot of those will be Americans.

“What’s more, the chances are he’s going to go on and dominate the sport for years to come, and he will, of course, deserve every success that comes to him, because you don’t get it unless you’re very talented, which he is, and prepared to learn and work hard, which he is.

“Who can stop him, though? That’s the question. And the answer, it seems, is Max Verstappen.

“This is a guy who’s come in, been bloody quick and won his first race in Barcelona, which was either the best thing that could have happened to him or the worst, because on one hand his confidence bloomed and on the other hand he thought he was invincible, at which point the crashes started coming.”

Button’s prediction turned out to be correct, with Verstappen’s maiden F1 title in 2021 ending a seven-year period of sheer dominance from the British driver that saw him take home six drivers’ world championships.

READ MORE: The best moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

The 2021 season is considered one of the most heated title fights in F1 history

Heading into the final race of the season neck-and-neck on points, Verstappen controversially pipped Hamilton on the final lap of the race to take his first of now four drivers’ world championships.

The season was marked by a number a clashes between the two drivers, with their entanglement at that year’s British Grand Prix serving as the flashpoint of the rivalry.

They also came to blows at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in the latter stages of the season. Hamilton was left confused after Verstappen appeared to brake-check him into the final corner. The Red Bull driver was slapped with a penalty for the incident.

That didn’t stop Hamilton’s assistant from being furious with Verstappen, though, with Angela Cullen expressing her anger at the Dutchman after the race.