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Button better than ever, says Coulthard

David Coulthard praised both Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel © Sutton Images

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Former McLaren driver David Coulthard says Jenson Button is a better driver now than when he won the world title with Brawn GP back in 2009.

Button enjoyed a dominant start to the 2009 season, winning six of the first seven races before eventually closing out the title by 11 points from Sebastian Vettel.

But Coulthard thinks Button, who was second to Vettel in 2011, has grown even more as a driver since his move to McLaren.

"I think he's a better driver now than when he won his world title with Brawn," said Coulthard at the Autosport International Show. "When he made his big points gap, and then the rivals started to catch up, he made mistakes. It was like a tennis player missing an easy smash.

"Now you look at him and the way he's performed, growing in confidence all the time. It's got to the stage now where when the conditions are at their most difficult, he's the guy they look to. It's pretty impressive being in that position."

Coulthard added that Sebastian Vettel can now be counted as one of the all-time greats of the sport after securing back-to-back world titles last season.

"What it shows is the emergence of a real great within the sport by winning those back-to-back world championships.

"In the end it's actually quite amazing that Sebastian was so dominant, because his victories were not like in the Michael Schumacher era, when he would sometimes be winning by half a lap or something."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.