Lewis Hamilton has revealed that, far from being against the idea of teaming up with Jenson Button at McLaren, he actually suggested they hire him.
The 2008 World Champion claimed that he phoned team boss Martin Whitmarsh around the time McLaren were looking to replace Heikki Kovalainen and suggested his title-winning successor.
Meanwhile, Button himself said he was asking Hamilton for insights into life at McLaren before he became World Champion and made the subsequent decision to leave Brawn - now Mercedes - GP.
Hamilton’s claim dispels the notion that, having consistently outperformed Kovalainen during their two seasons together, he was against the idea of being teamed with a driver of Button’s standing. Sky Sports
Hamilton said: “Something you won’t know is that I actually called Martin and said ‘What about Jenson?’, which was before they had negotiations.”
He added: “At the time I was calling them and asking them, ‘What’s going on? I keep reading all these different stories about different drivers. What’s happening?’.
“Fortunately I would be told who they were talking to, but I had absolutely no input into who they would pick.
“So I would say, ‘Have you spoken to this person? Have you spoken to Jenson?’.
“And why Jenson? Because he is the best driver there is, and they wanted to get the best driver possible. The Press Association
Asked if he knew about this glowing recommendation from Hamilton, Button shook his head. But then the world champion, too, surprised us by appearing to admit that he had begun to cast his net about even before he had won the title in Brazil last October.
“[Lewis and I] spoke a little bit in Brazil and Abu Dhabi,” Button admitted, “but not about me coming here. I just asked him questions about McLaren. So we spoke a little bit, but he didn’t know why I was asking the questions.
“I was just interested then – just being nosy really. I didn’t think for one second before Brazil that I would be changing teams. I didn’t think the option was there, not before I won the title. But obviously your mindset changes when you win something that you’ve worked so hard for. Then you look for other challenges.” Telegraph.co.uk
Whitmarsh added: “As we evaluated the driver market, which we did over a number of weeks, Lewis was consistently positive about Jenson.
“As I think was clear today, they have a high regard for each other and are already getting on well.”
Hamilton has been backed by McLaren for more than a decade and some have queried the wisdom of Button stepping into the ‘Lions’ Den’ when he might have remained top dog at Mercedes.
Others, such as ex-Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine, have suggested Button will be well beaten on the track by Hamilton, who has never been defeated by a team mate over a season.
Hamilton, who had a private dinner with Button on and was all smiles with his new team mate at the launch, disagreed.
“He is the current reigning world champion, so I personally would never think I could wipe the floor with him,” he said.
“I want the best team mate I can possibly have to score the points alongside me,” added the 25-year-old.
“When he’s winning I’ve got to be finishing second, and when I’m winning he’s got to be finishing second. I can’t win the constructors’ championship on my own, so I need to have as strong a team-mate as possible.” Yahoo! Eurosport
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