• Driver News

Hamilton suggested Button as team-mate

ESPNF1 Staff
January 30, 2010
Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will work together to win the title for McLaren © Sutton Images
Enlarge

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he actually suggested Jenson Button as his 2010 partner at McLaren.

His disclosure counters rumours that the 2008 champion wanted a slower team-mate and although he had previously claimed he was happy to drive alongside Heikki Kovalainen again, he said that he phoned team boss Martin Whitmarsh with his recommendation.

"One thing you may not know is that I actually called Martin and said, 'What about Jenson?'," he said. "It was before they had any negotiations. I have no input to who they pick but I asked if they had spoken to him. He was the best driver available and they wanted to get the best driver possible."

"I can't win the constructors' championship on my own, so I need to have as strong a team-mate as possible," he insisted. "You want someone to push you. I had that in 2007 [with Fernando Alonso], and in 2008 Heikki [Kovalainen] pushed me at points. I've no doubt that Jenson will be hard to beat. His results last year speak for themselves," he concluded.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices