Former Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has described his time as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate as the new challenge he needed after winning the drivers' championship.

Button joined the seven-time champion at McLaren in 2010, and while his former boss Ross Brawn advised against the move to the Woking outfit, the 46-year-old relished the challenge of beating Hamilton in the same machinery.

"Yes, I was team-mates with Lewis for three years. When I left Brawn in 2009 as a world champion, I was like, 'I need a new challenge,' and that challenge was to go up against Lewis Hamilton," Button told Sky Sports F1.

"And Ross Brawn even said, 'You're making a mistake.' So then I was in with both feet, and really enjoyed the partnership we had. And I think winning a race and beating Lewis Hamilton in the same car was almost like winning a world championship.

Jenson Button

"Didn't happen enough, but it was very special. So, no, I have a lot of respect for him as I do Fernando Alonso, who I raced with for two years, and seeing the way they work behind the scenes, not just in the car, is really impressive."

Button retired from racing at the end of 2025 after completing the World Endurance Championship season. "I left F1 in 2016. I was 36, and I was like, you know what, I think of myself as a racing driver, not just an F1 driver," he said. "So, I went off and raced in Japan. I raced in the World Endurance Championship, 24-hour races.

"I raced on dirt in Baja, NASCAR, and I've had such an amazing career. Very, very lucky. And it was time to hang up my race boots, spend more time with the family, and I've also got more time for F1 now."

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