Button on 'extreme talent' Verstappen: 'I think gaming also helped'

"When the year started in Bahrain, we were thinking it would be a walk in the park and it was for a few races. Off track there was a lot to talk about and a bit of a fractured team. Adrian Newey leaving was a big deal, but I don't think it had an affect this year. It was kind of spiralling," Button said in Las Vegas on Sky Sports.

The 2009 world champion continued: "When you watch Max on track, he seemed calm in trying to get as many points as he could, not getting stressed about not having the quickest car. He got it into his head 'I'm not going to win another race, I'm just going to do the best I can every race'. And I think the last race in Brazil, just wow, and knocked it out with that win. That's what finalised it."

Praise from Button

Towards the end of of his career at McLaren, the Briton competed against Verstappen himself in Formula One. His last season was in 2016, when the Dutchman got promoted to Red Bull Racing from Toro Rosso ahead of the Spanish GP.

"[I] raced against Max at the end of my career and to see where he could place the car was the most impressive thing. For example, at the start there's three cars side by side and he could find a way to get inside there. He could place the car and had belief in himself and the car more so than anyone else in really difficult conditions."

"So he's an extreme talent and I think it comes from obviously the karting background, his parents, very competitive. But also I think the gaming side of it as well, the amount of hours he's put into gaming, days and days and years of gaming, I think this has also helped his talent and ground him as one of the best we've ever seen," the 15-time GP winner concluded in the 'Sin City'.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi

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