Jenson Button: 'The championship is absolutely Max's'

Sergio Perez has had an awful few weeks sportingly. The Mexican thought he was a serious contender for the world title, but after three consecutive dramatic Grands Prix, all championship aspirations can be put on ice. Jenson Button, 2009 F1 champion, is 100% convinced that Max Verstappen already has the world title in the bag.

Perez was fastest in qualifying in May, but after that little worked for the Red Bull Racing Mexican. Verstappen even won in Miami, having started from spot nine. Then Perez failed to reach Q3 for three races. This immediately threw away his chances in the races, as Verstappen started from pole three times in a row.

'Hopefully Perez recovers'

"When Max sees his teammate having a tough weekend, it gives him confidence," Button told Motorsport. "Max is now uncatchable, he's gone and the championship is definitely his. What happens to Checo? Hopefully he will recover. We all want people to fire Max, we want to see good races from Checo. He's very fast, it's just the inconsistency that is killing him."

While Verstappen dominates Formula 1, former champion Button also wants to return to racing full-time. The Briton drove a (modified) NASCAR car at the last 24 Hours of Le Mans. That apparently tasted like more, as Button has set his sights on a full-time return to motorsport. Button would like to compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) or its American counterpart IMSA. The latter is the obvious choice, as he lives in Los Angeles and has close contacts with Cadillac.