F1 champion backs SURPRISE driver to replace Hamilton

Jenson Button has backed his former McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes when the latter moves to Ferrari.

Button spent two years driving alongside the Spaniard when Alonso himself left Ferrari nearly a decade ago, and has now backed the grid's oldest driver to replace the second oldest.

Despite the pair being part of the team during their dramatic decline in form with the Honda power unit, they formed a close friendship on and off the track which they carried up until Button’s retirement from the sport in 2016.

At the age of 42, Alonso is still going strong in F1, displaying incredible performances and consistency with his hunger to race, which helped him achieve fourth in the standings in 2023 with Aston Martin, his best finish since 2013.

Button: I would love to see Alonso at Mercedes

And it is that drive to compete that is the reason that Button is backing the two-time champion to replace Lewis Hamilton following his stunning move to Ferrari in 2025.

Speaking with Sky Sports F1, when asked who he would like to see at Mercedes with George Russell, Button responded: “I mean, I have to say, yeah I might have a man-crush on my ex-team-mate, Fernando Alonso!

“But I would love to see Fernando Alonso. He is 42 now I think, but the hunger’s there and if the hungers there, the fitness is there.

“He drives every day, he’s driving a go-kart or some sort of race car. If he’s there, I think it would be a cool partnership. I think they’d learn from each other pretty well and I think they’d work well together.”

READ MORE: What the 2025 F1 grid looks like after MASSIVE Hamilton move

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