'It feels weird' to see McLaren struggle - Hamilton
McLaren's car "doesn't look like a McLaren", according to former driver Lewis Hamilton, who cannot understand the team's struggles.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton reckons McLaren have lost their identity, while he has called on his former team to keep Jenson Button next season.
Hamilton, now with Mercedes, won his first drivers' championship with McLaren in 2008 but since the 30-year-old left the British team, they have struggled, culminating in their dreadful 2015 so far.
Button and Fernando Alonso have been unable to finish higher than 11th for McLaren this year, with the star duo both failing to start a Grand Prix this season and nine retirements.
With McLaren no longer in their traditional red and white livery, and struggling at the back of the F1 pack, Hamilton has argued he almost does not recognise his former team.
"I never really notice them, when I go past them," he told the Guardian.
"I can't tell the difference, whether it's Fernando or Jenson. It doesn't look like a McLaren. For me, a McLaren is always red and white, or the silver car I drove.
"Now it is greyish, completely grey, and it feels very weird when you look at the board and see this team fighting with Marussia [Manor]. Marussia are relatively close and run on hardly any budget.
"It doesn't make sense and I cannot believe that that team has got to that point."
Hamilton and Button did not always get along during their time together at McLaren.
But Hamilton remains convinced Button is the man to help McLaren out of their predicament.
"Experience still stands for a lot and that team needs direction and a lot of help," Hamilton said.
"I still think Jenson has a place in F1. He is one of the greats."
Hamilton leads the 2015 drivers' championship standings by 28 points heading into Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.