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“He’s Made Some Silly Mistakes”: Former F1 Champion Weighs in on Sebastian Vettel and His Problems

Published 04/15/2020, 12:52 PM EDT

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With a career crossing 17 years, Jenson Button has raced against some of Formula 1’s most amazing drivers. The Sky Sports F1 pandit has chosen six who he would rank as the best he’s at any point shared the track with. Button recorded Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, Max Verstappen, and Sebastian Vettel.

The 2009 world champion made his choices on the Sky F1 Vodcast.

Button was asked on a Sky Sports F1 ‘vodcast’ which drivers he evaluated as the best he went up against in his time in F1. His career spans from 2000 to his last race at Monaco in 2017.

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As Button explained: “It’s the only way I can really judge them because I’ve been on the track with them. I always find it difficult comparing someone like [Juan Manuel] Fangio to someone like Lewis [Hamilton] – decades apart, completely different sport.”

Speaking in a Sky Sports Vodcast, the 2009 world champion with Brawn said: “So for me, it would be…I’ll stick Lewis [Hamilton] in there. Fernando Alonso. [I have] been team-mates with both of them, immense talents in very different ways.

However, he additionally put Verstappen in a similar position as those four numerous victors, lauding, specifically, the Red Bull driver’s shocking presentation at the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he flooded from fourteenth at one point to complete the race third, pulling off a string of extraordinary overtakes all the while.

Sebastian Vettel has Immense talent – Button

Jenson Button was praising the German for winning four consecutive titles. The Brit was also criticizing Sebastian Vettel for struggling with the team and with the teammate.

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Button additionally anticipated an arrival to form for the German in 2020 following a “tough” year spent close by the “competitive” Charles Leclerc.

Vettel winning four [titles] on the bounce was a big deal, I really do think,” said Button. “He’s struggling a little bit more now I would say, going through some tough times with a competitive teammate, but I think it’s going to make him a better driver.

He also says Sebastian has been making some silly mistakes but thinks Vettel will bounce back strongly.

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“I think he’s made some silly mistakes, which I’m sure he would say were silly mistakes as well. But I also think he’ll come out the other side of this as a better driver, I really do. He’s got [Leclerc] who’s really pushed him and beaten him throughout a season, so I think he’ll come back stronger. He has immense talent, and we’ll see that once we get racing this year.”

 

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Written by:

Abhay Aggarwal

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Abhay Aggarwal is sports analyst at EssentiallySports. Having joined ES in early 2020, he has over 300 NASCAR, Formula 1, and Tennis articles to his name. Abhay has been an avid motorsports fan for over a decade, and he even attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in 2011.
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