Button: I'm a huge fan of Rosberg

Rosberg, ironically, earned his Williams seat after Button himself bought himself out of a contract with the Grove-based outfit, preferring to remain with Honda on a long-term contract.

Furthermore, both made their Formula One debut at the age of twenty - although Button says Rosberg, who is the reigning GP2 champion, has more racing experience than he himself had at that age.

"He has a huge amount of experience for somebody of his age," the Briton stated. "He's 20, and although I was 20 when I first raced a Formula One car, he has a lot more racing experience than I had at that stage."

Button is currently on a promotional visit to South Africa with team sponsor Lucky Strike and made a  whistle-stop visit to a street art tour in Johannesburg today.

Asked by present reporters about his relationship with other Formula One drivers, Button said they don't spend much time together, "but if somebody does something stupid we certainly talk."

"An example is [Yuji] Ide," Button continued. "I mean, the car (Super Aguri) is pretty 'paste', to be honest, but he is also inexperienced, which can make it dangerous.

"Then there is that guy [Scott] Speed, who also needs more experience, but I think he'll be all right.

"I used to hang out with DC (David Coulthard), but that seems to have stopped, and now I have my own friends."

Button was accompanied on the trip by the team's South African connection, chief mechanic Alastair Gibson, and former British F3 champion Alan van der Merwe, who is scheduled to drive Honda's Bonneville 400 car on the famous salt flats once weather conditions permit.