Why Lewis Hamilton Is Racing Like a Champion Again: Jenson Button’s Simple Explanation

The Big News: Hamilton’s Happy Comeback at Ferrari

Imagine your favorite race-car driver suddenly starts winning again after a rough year. That’s what’s happening with Lewis Hamilton! He drives for a team called Ferrari in Formula 1 (the fastest, fanciest race-car league in the world). This season, he’s been doing super well. Here’s what he achieved, step by step:

1. He got his first top-three finish (called a podium) as a Ferrari driver by coming in 3rd at the Chinese Grand Prix (a race in China).
2. He then got two more podiums, both 2nd place, at the Canadian Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix.
3. Finally, he won his very first race for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix (a track in Spain)!

A Quick Background: From One Team to Another

• Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time champion (that means he’s won the whole league seven times!).
• He spent 12 years driving for a team called Mercedes.
• At the start of 2025, he moved to Ferrari. (Ferrari’s main office is in a town called Maranello, so people sometimes call the team the “Maranello outfit”.)
• During his first year with Ferrari, he found it hard. He was getting used to a new team, new car, and new friends, so he didn’t do as well.

What Does Jenson Button Think?

Jenson Button is another former Formula 1 driver. He was on a TV show called Sky Sports F1 Show and shared his thoughts. He said Hamilton’s better results this year are because of two things:

• Reason 1: Hamilton is now more comfortable in his new Ferrari team (like making new friends at a new school). Button noted that over the winter break, they had time to sit down and discuss what worked for Hamilton and what didn’t.
• Reason 2 (the bigger one!): The new generation of Formula 1 cars (built under fresh rules called “regulations”) just fit the way Hamilton likes to drive.

Button said both matter, but the car is the “way above” reason.

Why the Car Is Like a Perfect Pair of Shoes (ELI5)

Think of driving a race car like riding a bike. If the bike is too wobbly, you can’t go fast even if you’re good. The new F1 cars are built with new rules that make them feel more like the “normal” race cars Hamilton used to drive years ago.

• Driving style: Everyone holds the steering wheel and presses the pedals a bit differently. Hamilton likes a car that “feels natural” to him.
• New-regulation cars: These are the latest toy cars made after the rule change. Button says they suit Hamilton’s style more, almost like slipping into an old comfy shoe.

Important Point: Button believes the biggest reason for Hamilton’s return to form is the car matching his style, NOT just him settling into Ferrari. He said the car “is way above settling into a team and making them listen.”

The Tricky Part: Making Friends With the Engineer

In Formula 1, each driver has a special radio buddy called an engineer who talks to them during the race and helps them go fast. Hamilton left his old engineer “Bono” (whose real name is Peter Bonnington) at Mercedes. They were super close, like best friends. Button said:

• “The engineer relationship is always a really tricky one… especially when you’ve left someone like Bono at Mercedes. It’s such a close relationship. So, it does take a minute.”
• That means getting used to a new engineer takes time, but it’s still less important than the car.

Hamilton vs His Old Teammate

Button also reminded us that even before Ferrari, in Hamilton’s last four years at Mercedes, he wasn’t the same super-dominant driver we remembered.

• His teammate (the other driver on the same team) was George Russell.
• Russell often beat Hamilton in qualifying (a timed session to decide who starts the race at the front). Button said Hamilton wasn’t “absolutely annihilating his team-mate in qualifying” like he used to.
• Button said this shows it wasn’t just Ferrari that was the problem; it was the type of car. Now that the cars are “more normal,” Hamilton is back to his old self.

Summary

To sum up everything in a tiny nutshell:

• Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari in 2025 and had a tough first year.
• This season he got a podium in China, two second places in Canada and Monaco, and a win in Barcelona.
• Fellow driver Jenson Button says Hamilton’s bounce-back is partly because he’s comfortable at Ferrari (they talked over winter, new engineer trust is building), but mostly because the new F1 car rules created cars that fit Hamilton’s driving style like a glove.
• The old engineer friendship and past struggles with teammate George Russell also show the car change is the hero of the story.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What is a “podium” in Formula 1?
A podium is when a driver finishes in the top three (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) of a race. They get to stand on a special stage to celebrate.

2. Who is Jenson Button and why does his opinion matter?
Jenson Button is a former Formula 1 driver who also won the championship. Because he drove these cars himself, he understands what makes a driver fast.

3. What does “new-regulation cars” mean?
It means the people who run Formula 1 changed the rulebook for how the cars must be built. The newest cars under these rules happen to feel more like older, simpler race cars that Hamilton loves.

4. Why is the engineer relationship important?
The engineer is the person on the radio who gives the driver crucial info during the race. Trust takes time, especially after leaving a long-time partner like Bono at Mercedes.

5. Did Hamilton win a race for Ferrari yet?
Yes! He won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this season, which was his first win wearing the red Ferrari suit.