Button delivers message of hope for Red Bull rivals over F1 'mix-up'

Former F1 World Champion Jenson Button believes the sport needs a "mix-up" after Red Bull's dominant season but doesn't think there will be a repeat next season.

Max Verstappen has set record after record this term on the way to a third consecutive Drivers' title, amassing enough points by himself to have beaten second-placed Mercedes in the Constructors' standings.

Red Bull's RB19 has been the pick of the field this term and has won all but one race and one Sprint, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz winning in Singapore and Oscar Piastri picking up honours in the reduced format in Qatar for McLaren.

Button has been busy promoting the Disney documentary delving into his and Brawn GP's 2009 title-winning season, where the team took advantage of new regulations and used innovative designs to steal an early march on the rest of the field.

Asked whether he thought similar efforts could be made by the chasing pack, Button told Sky Sports News: “Well, you don’t have the rule changes that we were lucky enough to have."

F1 'more competitive now'

“I also just think the sport is even more competitive now," added the Briton.

"You know, there are so many big teams fighting at the front and one tiny slip-up and you’re the fourth-best team.

“So to catch Red Bull’s difficult, but they’re getting closer. I mean, Brazil wasn’t a great example, but this second part of the season you’ve seen teams like McLaren and Mercedes, both fighting very closely with the Red Bulls.

“Max has had that little advantage, but his team-mate hasn’t, so we could have an upset next year.

“I don’t think it’s going to be all Red Bull’s way. This year was an exceptional year for that team, and I don’t feel it will be the same next year, which is what the sport needs. We need a little bit of a mix-up.”