'When me and Hamilton were team-mates we took wins off of each other'

Mercedes and Red Bull Racing have been struggling for years to find a good second driver. Where the Austrians are searching with Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Sergio Pérez, Mercedes also has doubts with Valtteri Bottas. Jenson Button is in favour of two top drivers in one team.

The former Formula 1 driver was Hamilton's teammate at McLaren between 2010 and 2012. Button therefore knows better than anyone how competitive it can be when two drivers from the same team have a chance to win the front places. Nevertheless, Button believes it is wise to have two good drivers on the same team.

"Fans want it and that’s what the sport should be," he says in an interview with PlanetF1.com. "It’s a tricky one isn’t it? When me and Lewis were team-mates we took wins off of each other, one of us could have probably won the World Championship if the other didn’t win the races that they did."

Battle for the world championship

Button finished second in 2011, while Hamilton almost won in 2010. "If we didn’t take wins off of each other we would have won the championship. But that’s the way Formula 1 should be: having two great drivers in a team that can fight for a World Championship."