Button on Hamilton: "Back then it was just driving every lap flat out"

Back in 2010 at McLaren, Jenson Button witnessed Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso working together from close up. The former driver was impressed by the two at the time and that hasn't diminished years later.

Hamilton was already world champion when Button worked with him. "Lewis was straightforward, super-quick and could drive anything you put him in, really," he told Sky F1. "They were very different from each other but I think the Lewis now is very different to back then. He has the experience. Back then it was just driving every lap flat out, and now he understands what he needs to do to get the best out of the car from A to B."

He also experienced Alonso at close quarters. The two-time world champion was already very experienced at his job at the time. "Fernando was a wily old fox. He knew exactly what he needed to do to win. He had the speed but he also understood strategy and he knew what he had to do with the engineers to get them on his side."

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has continued to win awards in recent years. The English driver is in contention with Max Verstappen for the world title this season. For now, Hamilton is 14 points ahead of the Dutchman.