Jenson Button predicts his former teammate Lewis Hamilton will beat Nico Rosberg and take the 2016 world title.
Hamilton returned from the summer break with a 19-point advantage over his Mercedes team-mate, but Rosberg has moved to within two points of the Briton after triumphs in Spa and Monza.
Given that the two men are now separated by the finest of margins, Rosberg appears to have his best chance yet of a maiden Formula 1 crown. But Button is confident his fellow countryman will win out, having already overturned a whopping 43-point deficit.
“Italy didn’t go his way but I think he’s going to win the world championship,” the McLaren driver told Sky Sports.
“He’s come from such a long way back, everyone forgets how far he was behind Rosberg, he closed that gap over three races.
“For me Lewis, when the car’s working for him, the results are a lot more consistent, qualifying’s impressive, and in a race he’s in a very strong position.
“Mentally he’s a lot stronger than he used to be, he’s got a really good chance and he probably is going to win a fourth world title.”
The Mercedes duo are braced for a titanic battle for glory over the remaining seven races, starting at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
Hamilton has already admitted that the 2016 championship would mean more than the previous three following his monumental fightback.
“Every championship I’ve won, I seem to enjoy it more and more and more,” the Englishman said back in July.
“Winning those championships has always been a different journey. If I get to where I want to be at the end of this journey then it’s going to feel as good, if not greater than ever before.”
