Looking back on Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button’s tempestuous relationship

Childhood acquaintances from their respective karting days, their partnership began with each driver on one world title each – and an ambition to get the upper-hand that made normal relations near-impossible.

In his 2017 autobiography Button described Hamilton as “one of the greats” but admitted: “We were never really friends.”

For his part, Hamilton delivered a painful barb towards Button after he decided to end their partnership and move on to Mercedes.

Asked about getting the better of his now-former team-mates in 2013, Hamilton responded: “The rivalry between me and Fernando (Alonso) excites me more.

“You also want to beat Seb (Sebastian Vettel), as they are the ones with the most titles. But Alonso’s the fastest driver I can see.”