Lewis Hamilton Would Relish Fighting Vettel or Verstappen Than Equaling Schumacher: Button

Lewis Hamilton is almost certainly on his way to equalling Michael Schumacher’s record for most Grand Prix wins (91) by the end of the Eifel Grand Prix. Schumacher’s record was once thought to be untouchable, yet here we are.

Such has been the dominance of Hamilton and Mercedes this decade. Yet, being on the cusp of equaling such a ridiculous record, there’s hardly any celebration.

Over the years, the gap between Mercedes and everyone else has only increased. At the moment, one feels that anything other than a Mercedes win is a shock result. Surely, in such a scenario, wins may feel all too easy to achieve for Lewis.

Hamilton’s former teammate at McLaren, Jenson Button, opines that Hamilton would have enjoyed his wins and achievements a whole lot more if he had to fight for it.

Button said, “I know Lewis, He likes to win, he’s definitely a winner and he’s very skilled. But I know he won’t be enjoying winning as much now as he would have done if he had competition from the outside.

“If he had (Charles) Leclerc or (Sebastian) Vettel or Max Verstappen in equipment that could challenge Lewis, I think he would enjoy that a lot more. Or if he had Michael Schumacher and he could beat him – that would mean more to him.

“It’s a tough one because you take every win that you get but you want the competition to be there to challenge you.”

Right now, the only person in equal machinery that can take the battle to Hamilton is his teammate Valtteri Bottas. The Finn won the Russian Grand Prix but has not been consistently challenging Hamilton for the top step on the podium.

Jenson Button optimistic of new regulations thinks it will bring the competition Lewis Hamilton has been missing

The new regulations for 2022 seem set to boost the competition in the sport. Button believes Hamilton will stick around till that day comes instead of simply retiring once he surpasses Schumacher’s record of 7 titles.

Once the new regulations kick in, “That’s when the racing is going to be awesome,” said Button.

Indeed, we are all hoping for a lot closer races and more evenly matched teams. It’s about time we finally get a proper title fight.