Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso is jealous of his former F1 teammate Jenson Button's ability to read the track conditions as he wishes to master the wet weather conditions.
Button is one of the most skilled wet-weather drivers, famous for his knack for making the right tire choices in changing weather conditions. Alonso spoke about the 2009 F1 champion's wet-weather racing skills in high regard, listing it as one ability he would like to inherit from another driver.
In conversation with former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa on Aston Martin's 'A Pitstop With' series, the Spaniard took Button's name when he was asked what ability he would take from another F1 driver.
“I would take from Button, from Jenson, the way of reading these weather conditions... And how the track evolves in damp conditions,” he said.
Fernando Alonso's claims about the British driver are backed by his impressive stats in rain-affected races. Button has won seven out of the 39 wet races in his career, with a winning percentage of 17.95%.
Button's first F1 victory came in wet conditions at the 2006 Hungarian GP. However, his most memorable win is the 2011 Canadian GP, where he overcame multiple setbacks to win the longest-ever F1 race.
The former McLaren driver often came alive under such conditions, precisely timing his pitstop to change tires or gambling to stay out on the slicks. This ability often allowed him to gain track position while his rivals had to make multiple stops.
Fernando Alonso raced alongside Button at McLaren for two years and has always spoken about him in high regard, once calling him the "best teammate" he has ever had.
Alonso wants to improve his ability to read evolving track conditions as he and Aston Martin chose the wrong strategy during the 2023 Monaco GP. The Spaniard is no slouch in wet conditions though as he has won four rain-affected races.
Fernando Alonso reveals a major regret in his F1 career
Alonso won his two championships with Renault early in his career before switching allegiances and finally ending up at every F1 driver's dream destination: Ferrari.
During his five-year stint with the team, Fernando Alonso put on valiant efforts to fight for the championships. He came perilously close in 2010 and 2012, only to lose to Sebastian Vettel on both occasions.
Alonso recently admitted that not winning those titles with Ferrari is one of the biggest regrets from his F1 career.
"Winning a championship with Ferrari – that would probably be the first thing I’d choose," he said on High Performance podcast. "If I can go back in time to 2010, 2012, we were within a few laps of winning a championship and that could have changed a little bit the outcome of many things and the history behind a few things."
Vettel replaced Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, as he too ventured to achieve the same dream of winning titles for the prestigious Italian team but failed to do so.