Jenson Button tips fellow Brit George Russell to win F1 world c’ship in future

Button also had praise for another Brit on the gird, McLaren’s 23-year old Lando Norris – who finished second on Sunday – and described him as a “super talent”.

While the likes of Norris and Russell are in the early years of their Formula One careers, Button spent 16 years racing for teams such as Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn and McLaren, winning 15 races and reaching the podium on 50 occasions.

But critics have also labelled Button and former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg “one-hit wonders” for not winning more world titles.

Button said: “When you start out as a kid, you don’t aim to win multiple World Championships, you aim to be a world champion. That was my aim, and in F1, to win a Grand Prix is difficult enough. And then you got to string it all together over one season, and be consistent and beat your teammate.

“You got to have the right mindset of giving everything to the sport. And that’s why I left Formula One, because it just took so much from me. And, you put so much effort in and you’ve got nothing left for anything else. So for me leaving was a breath of fresh air.”

While Button hung up his racing gloves at the end of 2016 aged 36 – although he made a one-off appearance at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix to replace Fernando Alonso – he has tipped Hamilton to continue in the sport till his 40s.

Button, who was teammates with Hamilton at McLaren between 2010 and 2012, said: “I don’t see him leaving anytime soon. I’m amazed by how many years he’s done in the sport, but then he’s also been in a car that’s given him the opportunity to win for so many years, and most of us don’t get that.”