Jenson Button scoffs at Max Verstappen theory after Red Bull star's prediction

08 February 2024 , 07:00

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Max Verstappen has hardly stopped winning over the last two seasons (Image: Getty Images)

Jenson Button rubbished the suggestion that Max Verstappen's dominance of Formula 1 has made the sport "boring".

Verstappen is currently on a run of three consecutive drivers' titles, each success more dominant than the last. His first crown was won in 2021 after a blockbuster title fight with Lewis Hamilton which sparked enormous interest in the sport.

But the two titles that have followed since for the Dutchman have been won far more easily. Last season in particular was devoid of any title intrigue whatsoever as Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races held - his Red Bull team failed to take victory just once all year..

But, speaking to the Fuelling Around podcast, Button said he still found the 2023 season to be entertaining. The 2009 world champion said: "We can say this is boring because one guy is winning all the races, [but] last year will go down in history.

"The championships that are won by such a big margin go down in history. The Michael Schumacher years, the dominance of the McLaren when Ayrton [Senna] and Alain [Prost] won the world championship - nobody could touch them. So it will go down in history.

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"I have to say, if you look at the numbers and the results, yeah, it doesn't look great. But I think we had some bloody good racing last year. Not all the races, but we have had some really good racing up and down the field. It wasn't a walk in the park for Max either."

But there is one way in which Button thinks the F1 world championship could be improved. He added: "I enjoyed the season - Sprint races, or sprints, not so much, apart from Brazil which was amazing. More races in Brazil, please!"

Verstappen heads into the 2024 season as heavy favourite to retain his crown, but he insists he is not likely to have it so easy this term. He said: "The others will improve their cars and get closer to us. I don't think it's that realistic to achieve that win rate again. But that's fine. To already have a season like we've had is insane. The others are not stupid. They are all learning.

"Of course, the longer you keep the regulations the same, the closer it will get, because people start to understand which direction they have to develop in. Luckily, we hit the ground running really well with the regulations [in 2022], but I definitely expect next year, for sure, all will definitely take a step towards us.

"I don't know which particular team, because if you look at the whole season it has been a bit up and down for everyone except us, so I don't really know in the winter which team is going to make the biggest jump. Hopefully, of course, they still stay behind but we'll see in Bahrain."

Daniel Moxon