Jenson Button has used a Sky Sports F1 preview slot to deliver an unusually direct verdict on Lewis Hamilton heading into the Canadian Grand Prix — and to put George Russell's Montreal credentials back on a level footing with the runaway momentum of his teenage Mercedes teammate.
The 2009 world champion, whose own most famous Montreal moment is the six-stop, four-hour, last-to-first victory in 2011, was speaking ahead of a weekend that doubles as the third sprint of the new season. He framed Hamilton's first eighteen months at Ferrari in personal terms.
"Lewis moving to Ferrari was super exciting last year. It was a really tough year for him, as you would expect really," Button said. "Coming from a team that he's been with for a very long time, won multiple world championships with, and jumping into a team that's not just different, but it's Italian and your teammate speaks Italian and you don't."
Hamilton's recent decision to skip the Ferrari simulator entirely in the run-up to Montreal — first reported during the Miami weekend, as concerns over simulator-to-track correlation built up — drew Button into more cautious territory.
"This year, from the word go, he seems a lot more confident in himself, a lot more confident in the people he's working with in the team. But you're right, the last couple of races haven't been easy for him. And sometimes you can get a little bit lost with a simulator — going around in the wrong direction with the setup. You still need to do it though. There's homework that's needed to be done away from the track. But Lewis will turn up with a lot of confidence in Montreal. We want to see Ferrari at the front. We want to see Lewis fighting for wins, especially in Montreal, a circuit he loves so much."
Kimi Antonelli arrives in Canada with three feature-race wins on the spin and a 20-point championship lead over Russell. Button's verdict on the 19-year-old combined admiration with a sharp warning.
"Really impressive. The first win, the second win, there was a little bit of luck involved, which we all need as racing drivers. But he capitalised on that and showed his pace. The last race in Miami — really impressive, because he was on the back foot a little bit with being behind Lando Norris at the start of the race. But that came through and his pace at the end of the race again was extremely impressive. I still think there's a lot of improvement that can be made with his race. He's struggling at the starts, he's losing places every race. When he gets that right, he seems like he'll be unstoppable."
The hidden subtext of the entire preview was Russell. Beaten by his teammate on three consecutive race weekends, off the podium in some of them, the Mercedes driver has openly told the media that smoother circuits suit his style better than Miami did. Button read that as strength, not weakness.
"He's actually got the best car now, whereas last year he probably didn't. I expect him to be very competitive. And I think with George, the way he's been so open with the media is really positive. He's showing confidence where he said Miami, it's not a track that suits my driving style. Whereas the other tracks, the smoother tracks where I can be precise, they work for me. One of those tracks is definitely Montreal."
Asked whether such candour risked exposing self-doubt, Button rejected the framing.
"I think it shows confidence. As drivers, we have insecurities and we hide them away, which isn't the best. Being open about it is the way forward. But yeah, you're right. This is like the first time his teammate's beaten him on three consecutive weekends — when his teammate's won and some of the time he wasn't even on the podium. Difficult moments for George Russell."
Button closed on the city itself.
"The atmosphere in Montreal is one of the best tracks for atmosphere — or the city anyway. The city stops for F1, with street parades. It's a really, really special atmosphere. And the circuit is unique. It's very low grip, long straights, chicanes that you need to muscle the car over the kerbs. That's probably why Lewis has done so well there in the past. He can be aggressive with the car and throw it about."
For Hamilton, who has spent the last fortnight visibly trying to reset, hearing a fellow world champion publicly back him in is precisely the kind of pre-race air cover he has not had at any point in 2026.
