Jenson Button says speculation linking Lewis Hamilton with a switch to Ferrari will “massively” benefit his F1 contract negotiations with Mercedes.
Hamilton, who is in the final year of his current Mercedes deal, rubbished reports that he could make a sensational move to Ferrari by revealing he is close to agreeing an extension with his team ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Earlier this week, reports claimed Ferrari were preparing a huge £40m bid to try and lure Hamilton away from Mercedes, with Italian media even suggesting contact between the two parties had been made.
But Hamilton said he has not been in talks with the famous Italian outfit, while Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur firmly denied that an offer had been made for the seven-time world champion.
Asked if the Ferrari rumours will benefit Hamilton’s negotiating power, Button replied: “Massively, it always does. If a driver has more than one option, it’s always better for them.
“But Mercedes know what he’s worth, so they’ll pay him what he’s worth.
“He’s still unbelievably quick and if he had a car that was competitive enough, he would be fighting for the world championship.”
2009 world champion Button said Ferrari are the “last team” he could envisage former McLaren teammate Hamilton driving for.
“For me, it’s [Ferrari] the last team that I would see Lewis at,” he added.
“It’s such a big shift for a driver to race for an Italian team. It’s completely different to anything he’s experienced before at McLaren and Mercedes.
“It’s a big shift. The team is based in Italy and they just go about their business in a different way.
“We would all love to see it. I think a lot of people would. It’s fun to see the shift and how drivers interact with a new teammate.
“But personally, the best place for Lewis is at Mercedes and he knows that.”
Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff echoed Button’s comments and said she believes Hamilton wants to leave a legacy similar to the one Michael Schumacher had at Ferrari.
“I’m sure he would look good in red but I’m not sure that it’s the right fit or the right direction,” Schiff said.
“Because he’s spent so much time at Mercedes now, he’s built a legacy already and I think he definitely wants to leave one there.
“They’ve done a lot of work with the way that they’ve transformed the team. I think he has too much respect for the team to do that.
“I think [Michael] Schumacher is a good example. When you think of Schumacher, you think of Ferrari. You don’t think of the fact he finished his career at Mercedes. So why would he do it?
“I can’t see why he would do that unless he was really, really unhappy at Mercedes – which he’s clearly not.”
Keyword: Jenson Button says Ferrari F1 rumours "massively" benefit Lewis Hamilton but ‘last team I see him at’