Button explains why Hamilton’s seating position is making him “struggle”

Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton detailed the issues he has with the 2023 Mercedes car, pinpointing one key area.

​​“If you look at the past, I’ve always enjoyed an oversteering car,” Hamilton explained. "I don’t know if people know, we sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers. Our cockpit is too close to the front.

“When you’re driving, you feel like you’re sitting on the front wheels which is one of the worst feelings to feel when you’re driving a car.

"If you were driving your car at home and you pulled the wheels right underneath your legs, you would not be happy when you're approaching the roundabout.

"What that does is it really changes the attitude of the car and how you perceive its movement. And it makes it harder to predict compared to when you're further back and sitting more centred. It is just something I have really struggled with."

Button - who spent three years as the seven-time champion’s teammate between 2010 and 2012 - simplified Hamilton’s complaints from a driver’s perspective.

“It’s [to do] with what he’s not feeling,” Button said during Sky’s Australian GP coverage. “I think that’s the biggest problem with Lewis.

“The way he drives, he’s quite aggressive on the throttle, quite aggressive on the brake and he does everything through the steering wheel, so he really needs to feel what’s happening through the rear of the car through his arms.

“And he’s not getting that so he doesn’t have that confidence to push the car and these cars are tricky anyway, especially in qualifying, and if he doesn’t have that confidence, he’s not able to get the maximum out of it.”

• The start of an F1 revival - or a one off - for Mercedes?

Hamilton scored his first podium of F1 2023 in Melbourne, finishing second behind Max Verstappen.

He sits fourth in the drivers’ championship after three rounds.