Knocking on 40’s door, Jenson Button says Lewis Hamilton’s ageing reaction times could be what are hurting him in qualifying with the Briton losing this year’s head-to-head to George Russell.
Trailing Russell by 16-5 with just three qualifying sessions remaining in F1 2024, Hamilton will lose this year’s head-to-head, only his second qualifying defeat in his 12 seasons as a Mercedes driver.
Jenson Button: Maybe you do lose a tiny bit…
Last time out in Brazil, Hamilton failed to make it out of Q1 in a wet qualifying while Russell was two seconds quicker than his team-mate and crossed the line with the second fastest time of the session.
Hamilton declared: “Pretty bad, but it’s the same as every qualifying for me, not that I’m happy about it. I just don’t have any confidence in the car so a big struggle for me.”
His qualifying struggles have bled into Sunday’s Grand Prix as it’s left Hamilton with work to do to recover. He has scored 40 points in the seven races since the summer break while Russell has managed 75.
Stating that qualifying had been Hamilton’s “strength”, Button pondered whether age was playing a role in Hamilton’s huge defeat to Russell.
“He’s almost 40 years old and maybe you do lose a tiny bit,” he told Sky F1 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“You are racing against 20-year-olds, your reactions however good they are, are still not going to be as good as a 20-year-old’s reactions.
“You can possibly lose that slight edge which wouldn’t show up in a race but I think in qualifying that is where it does become a little bit more difficult.
“It hurts, it does when you see the younger drivers suddenly, not just quick in qualifying but it is the consistency they can put in in qualifying.”
Analysis: Lewis Hamilton v George Russell in qualifying
👉 George Russell 16-5 Lewis Hamilton: The data behind Hamilton’s first qualifying drubbing
👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates
Jenson Button tips Hamilton to bounce back from Brazil
Hamilton bounced back from his Brazilian GP misery to get the pace in FP1 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the seven-time World Champion almost four-tenths up on George Russell after a surge late in the session.
The Briton’s participation in Sin City had been thrown into doubt when he told Mercedes over the radio after Brazil: “If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn’t great.”
Hamilton admitted to Sky that in that moment he genuinely wanted to call it quits.
“In the moment, that’s how I felt,” he confirmed. “I didn’t really want to come back after that weekend.
“But, I think that’s only natural, you know. It’s frustrating when you have a season like this, which I’m pretty sure I won’t have again, or at least I’ll work towards not having again.
“Yeah, it just wasn’t a great feeling in that moment, but I’m here, I’m standing strong and I’m going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.”
Button is happy to see his former team-mate back on track.
“After a weekend like that, that’s what you remember, that’s the last thing you remember about Formula 1,” said the 2009 World Champ. “I’m really happy that he’s here, and I’m sure we’ll see the best of Lewis.”
Hamilton has just three races remaining as a Mercedes driver before he heads to Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc in 2025.
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