"The races you won in F1 must have helped you to be competitive in Indycar?": When Jenson Button took a hilarious dig at Marcus Ericsson

2009 F1 champ Jenson Button and 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson engaged in awkwardly hilarious banter about an IndyCar versus F1 comparison in 2022. The basis of the exchange was an occurrence at the 2022 F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain in March.

The then-Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen set the best lap time of the day after the team was given an extra hour of running to account for a freight delay. A month before that, when the Dane ran an IndyCar test with Chip Ganassi Racing at Sebring, he finished last among 17 drivers.

Marcus Ericsson, who drover for five years in F1 before switching to IndyCar in 2019, used Magnussen's lap times to unseriously point out how IndyCar was more challenging than F1.

"A month ago Kmag tested @IndyCar at Sebring and was slowest. Now first day back in F1 and he’s fastest. Must mean @IndyCar is a lot harder and more competitive then @F1. Clearly settles that discussion once and for all 🤷 😉 #F1 #INDYCAR #LetsSeeWhoUnderstands #F1Testing" he wrote on X.

Jenson Button replied to Ericsson's tweet by taking a dig at his winless 5-year F1 career, writing:

"I agree but all those races you Won in F1 must have helped you build confidence to be competitive in Indycar? 😉"

In reply to Button, Ericsson simply revealed how his intention was to cause a light-hearted stir and nothing more.

"Man I wouldn’t have thought someone like you would take the bait. Fair play mate. It’s a burn 🔥. But next time read the # "

The interaction continued as Button subsequently explained how his message was in jest too and also lauded Ericsson for his career-best 2021 season in Indy. The latter then closed the conversation with a final message that included a congratulatory wish for his former rival's marriage with girlfriend Brittny Ward.

"All good mate! I was also just playing around obviously, people takes things way to serious these days 😅 And hey, looks like you’ve had more important stuff to do lately than social media 💍🎉 Congrats! Sounds like a plan, thanks 💪 "

As fate would have it, in November 2023, Andretti Global signed Jenson Button and Marcus Ericsson as teammates for the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona. While the Briton scored a podium with a third-place finish, his Indy 500-winning teammate finished in 9th.

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Marcus Ericsson's take on the key differences between IndyCar and F1

NTT IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Marcus Ericsson spent most of his time in F1 at the back of the grid. He drove for Caterham in 2014 and four seasons with Sauber/Alfa Romeo. Both teams were struggling to score points then.

When he jumped ship to IndyCar in 2019, the spec series allowed him to showcase his caliber as a driver. He tasted victory for the first time, twice in 2021, followed by a career-highlight Indy 500 win in 2022.

During the 2024 Honda Indy Toronto weekend, he explained the differences between the two open-wheel racing series on the Track Limits podcast.

"Formula 1 is more intense in many ways because one, the season goes on for so long, so it's a very tough lifestyle. You don't get a lot of time outside the racing bubble. I feel like IndyCar is a little bit more... you go to race weekend, you go back home after, and you get a bit more normal life."

"On the racing side, the cool thing with IndyCar is obviously we all have the same opportunity, we all have the same car to work with, whereas Formula 1 is more a constructors' championship in a way than a drivers' championship."

Ericsson recorded a subpar 2024 season in his first year for Andretti Global. He dropped to 15th in the standings after three consecutive years of finishing in sixth with Chip Ganassi Racing.