Former F1 driver Martin Brundle predicts tension will arise between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at McLaren in 2011.
The veteran of over 160 race starts and 14 years of commentating believes the upcoming season could see the two British drivers battling for track position more often. Compared to 2010 when their only real ‘wheel-to-wheel’ battle took place in Turkey.
That race saw Button pass Hamilton when the both of them had been told to save fuel. Hamilton then managed to re-pass his team-mate into turn one, regaining the lead.
Whilst that minor hiccup was the only source of tension between the two friends in 2010, Brundle predicts Button will have improved enough to push Hamilton harder.
“I think Jenson matched Lewis better than many people expected,” the 51-year-old said whilst on-stage at the Autosport show.
“If he sorts out his qualifying he will give Lewis even more of a hard time, but Lewis was pretty much on top by the end of the year.
“But what we haven’t seen, is them in a head to head. They are quite good mates, but there is no point being that much of a mate with your team-mate, or any other F1 driver for that matter, that you are competing against. So when we see them in an absolute head-to-head I think we might find a different dynamic between the two.
“If you look back to the Istanbul race and remember Lewis’ face on the podium when Jenson had passed him and he wasn’t expecting it, I think that is a little taster of what might happen [more in 2011]”
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