Jenson Button: Fernando Alonso a more consistent team-mate than Lewis Hamilton

26 November 2015 03:31

Jenson Button believes Fernando Alonso presents a "bigger challenge" as a team-mate than Lewis Hamilton.

Button partnered Hamilton for three years at McLaren, and remains the only driver from within the same team to have beaten the three-time champion over the course of a season.

Button, the 2009 world champion, is coming to the end of a miserable campaign with McLaren, as their lacklustre engine supplier Honda continues to struggle for pace and reliability.

Indeed Button and Alonso, who quit Ferrari to join McLaren last winter, have spent much of the campaign propping up the field.

Yet Button believes the Spaniard, who won the first of his two consecutive world titles with Renault 10 years ago, provides a sterner test as a team-mate than Hamilton.

"In a race it is a bigger challenge, a more consistent challenge," said Button. "He is always there. On some race days Lewis was untouchable, and on other race days it was like 'where is he?'.

"Lewis is a different driver now and more experienced, but Fernando is always there and always competitive.

"If he is in front of you, you are holding on, and if he is behind you, he is pushing you along. That is great and I like that. It is important in a team and it has definitely helped us this year."

Button and Alonso are coming to the end of their first campaign together at McLaren with the former holding a five-point advantage over his Spanish team-mate.

Alonso, during his 14-year grand prix career, has never been beaten by a team-mate.

"That is not the satisfying bit - next year will be a lot more interesting - but the bit I am happy about is that I feel I have done a good job with what I have been given," said Button.

"Working alongside Fernando has been great, and we do learn from each other a lot because we have both had such a long career in Formula One.

"We come together with all that experience and it really helps us with the limited running we have had this year. It has helped this team in terms of a direction for next year.

"Giving great feedback from two experienced drivers, that is what is going to move this team forward the most."

After the last race in Brazil, Alonso said that his level of performance had dipped this season, and that he needs to improve in 2016.

But Button, speaking ahead of the season-ending grand prix in Abu Dhabi, moved to downplay his team-mate's remarks.

"Before this year he was regarded as the best driver in Formula One so it is amazing how quickly people forget," Button said of Alonso.

"He is a very talented, very rounded, very complete driver and there are not many.

"A lot of drivers have their strengths, but they also have big weaknesses. I don't think he does have a big weakness."

Source: PA