Jenson Button believes that Max Verstappen is the “most rounded F1 driver that there has ever been”, with the 2009 World Champion suggesting that the Dutchman can “do more with a car than anyone else”.
Since making his debut back in 2015, Verstappen has added his name to the history books by going on to achieve four World Championships, 65 wins, 44 pole positions and 117 podiums to date.
While the Red Bull man has faced a tougher start to 2025 – putting him in third of the Drivers’ Standings on 165 points, 69 points adrift of leader Oscar Piastri and 61 behind second-placed Lando Norris – Button feels that Verstappen remains as the best driver currently on the grid.
As such, the Briton was asked during an appearance on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X about who he saw as the second-best, leading him to give his take on how the McLaren pair compare to Verstappen.
“I think Lando and Oscar are both up there,” Button explained. “They’re very different personalities. I think Lando can be his own worst enemy. He’s unbelievably quick, but if he makes a tiny mistake… I think he thinks about it too much.
“Oscar is very level-headed. He just wants to go racing, and he wants to drive fast, and he does it very well. And my comments about Max [being the best], yeah, I feel he’s the most rounded F1 driver that there has ever been, you know?
“And I know he hasn’t won the championships of Lewis [Hamilton]. And I obviously think Lewis is extremely, extremely good and one of the best in the world. But there’s just something about Max that he can do something with a car that I don’t think anyone else can.”
In terms of knowing Hamilton’s abilities, Button raced alongside the seven-time World Champion at McLaren between 2010 and 2012 and was left impressed by how his then team mate could quickly bounce back during a race weekend.
“I was team mates with him for three years, and the talent, the natural ability he has is unbelievable,” said Button. “He would struggle in practice, come to qualify, I’m like, ‘Right, I’ve got him. I’m going to have him.’ And he’d just, bang, put in a lap.
“It just came from nowhere, and I don’t know where it came from. So, extreme talent, and obviously the career he’s had, I’m not sure anyone’s going to beat that, his records. But just thinking about this moment in time, I feel that Max is the one that can do more with a car than anyone else.”
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player.
