The Legacy of Jenson Button

Jenson Button has made his final professional racing appearance in Bahrain, closing the curtain on his 37 years in motorsport. From Karting prodigy to Formula 1 World Champion to Endurance racer, Button has done it all.

(Image credit to @williamsracing on Instagram)

Jenson Alexander Lyons Button was born on January 19th, 1980, in Frome, Somerset. He is the youngest of four to mother Simone Lyons and Father John Button, who was an English Rallycross driver. Unfortunately, John passed away in 2014 at the age of 70. He has three older half-sisters, all on his father's side. Button is currently married to American model Brittney Ward and they share a six-year-old son, Hendrix Jonathan Button, and a four-year-old daughter, Lenny Monrow Button. 

Button was gifted his first kart for Christmas in 1987, but began Karting in 1988 at the age of 8, and won his very first race, which was a wet one. At age 9, Button won the British Super Prix, and his father spoke to him about progressing to the club level after showing competitiveness, which interested him. In 1991, at just 11 years old, Button won all 34 races in the British Cadet Kart Championship. Button then told his father that Formula 1 was his dream. He continued to succeed, with three British Open Kart Championship wins. But 1992 wasn’t so successful; he struggled to achieve any wins, but Button stayed motivated, and his father continued to support him 100%. 

In 1994, Button competed in the RAC British Junior Championship and finished 4th due to a series of DNFs. In the same year, he raced in the Junior Intercontinental A European Championship and Junior Intercontinental A Italian Winter Championship. In 1995, he became the youngest runner-up in the Formula A World Championship at 15. Then in 1996, he finished fifth in the European Formula A Championship, third in the Formula A World Championship, and third in the Formula A World Cup. The following year, Button finished second in the Japanese World Cup and won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup. Also in 1997, he became the youngest driver and first British driver to win the European Super A Championship. 

At 18, Button moved to single-seaters and tested an F3 car. He was told he should race full-time in F3, but he rejected the offer because he feared he would be uncompetitive given his inexperience in single-seaters. Instead, he moved to Formula Ford for the 1998 season, taking the British Formula Ford Championship with nine wins and winning the Formula Ford Festival. Also finished runner-up in the European Formula Ford Championship. At the end of the year, Button won the Autosport BRDC Award, which included a test in the Formula 1 McLaren MP4/14, which he drove in November 1999. 

After some convincing and testing, Button joined Promatecme for the 1999 season with British F3. He achieved three wins and finished third overall, making him the top rookie driver. Button had to decide his future at the end of the season, and he didn’t want to do another season in F3. He did his McLaren F1 test in November, and Alain Prost was impressed with his ability and asked him to test for Prost. After, Prost offered Button a seat in his F3000 and as his F1 team's test driver, but Button rejected, since he was not promised a full-time F1 seat. Button also rejected offers from McLaren and Jaguar. Then, a spot became available at Williams, Frank Williams arranged a “shoot-out” between Button and test driver Bruno Junqueira in the Williams FW21B, modified with a BMW engine. 

Button ended up securing the seat, but he did not have a super license. The FIA president, Max Mosley, required him to drive 300 km over two consecutive days of testing and receive support from 18 of 26 members of the F1 commission. The FIA chose to allow him a super license regardless. At the time, this made Button Britain's youngest F1 driver. In the second race of the 2000 season in Brazil, Button placed 6th, making him the youngest to score points at the time. Unfortunately for Button, Williams was just aiming to sign Juan Pablo Montoya, and did so mid-season, but Williams retained the right to recall Button in 2003 and loan him to Benetton for two years. In his rookie season, his best qualifying was P3 at the Belgian Grand Prix, and his best race finish was P4 at the German Grand Prix. He finished the Championship in 8th with 12 points. 

From 2001 - 2002, Button drove for Benetton (changed to Renault in 2002), but the car was uncompetitive and unreliable. Fernando Alonso replaced him for the 2003 season.

Button joined British American Racing (BAR) for the 2003 season. He finished the Championship in ninth with 17 points. Button continued with BAR in 2004 and achieved his first podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing P3. He also gained his first pole position in Imola, where he finished P2 in the race. Button finished the season with 18 podiums, scoring him P3 in the Championship, and BAR finishing P2 in the Constructors. 

For the 2005 season, Button wanted to leave BAR and signed a two-year contract with Williams, but BAR claimed Button was not allowed to leave, causing drama. In the end, F1’s Contract Recognition Board ruled in favor of BAR, so Button stayed for 2005. The 2005 season was a rough one, with the team banned for three races for having a second fuel tank inside the main one; when drained, the car was underweight. Button ended the Championship in ninth with 37 points. 

For the second consecutive year, there were contract disputes between BAR and Williams, as Button pre-signed with Williams for 2006, but Button felt he had a better chance with BAR. After several weeks, Williams agreed to release Button in exchange for an estimated £18 million. In 2006, BAR was renamed Honda. Button achieved his first win during a rainy Hungarian Grand Prix, starting from fourteenth on the grid. He finished the Championship in sixth with 56 points. 

Button stayed with Honda for the 2007 season; this was one of his worst seasons in F1. Only scoring a total of 6 points and finishing 15th in the Championship.

Again, Button stayed with Honda for another season. This season was even worse than the last, only achieving one point-scoring round at the Spanish Grand Prix with a sixth-place finish. 

Unfortunately, due to the financial crisis, Honda withdrew from Formula 1 for the 2009 season, leaving Button without a seat. But all worked out in the end, Honda Team Principal Ross Brawn bought the team for £1, changing the name to Brawn GP. This is where Button’s most iconic season began, the year he is most known for. Winning six of the first seven races, Brawn was looking very strong. But teams caught on to their double diffuser, and the dominance ended. In the final ten races, Button achieved no more wins and averaged sixth position. Button clinched the Championship at the penultimate round in Brazil, after qualifying in fourteenth. Everyone thought the fight would go to Abu Dhabi, but Button managed a fifth-place finish. He finished the season with a third-place finish in Abu Dhabi and a Championship win. Brawn’s one and only Drivers and Constructors victory.

Mercedes was set to buy out the Brawn GP team for 2010, and Button decided he wanted to leave and signed a three-year deal with McLaren. Button finished fifth in the Championship in the first year and runner-up in the second. Heading into his third year with McLaren, he signed a three-year contract extension. Button finished the 2012 season in fifth in the Championship. In 2013, Button became director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA). Getting a best finish of fourth place, Button ended the Championship in ninth. Button had his final career podium at the season-opener of the 2014 season at the Australian Grand Prix. He finished that season in eighth in the Championship. After some contract talks, Button stayed with McLaren for 2015, but the season didn't go well, scoring only four top-ten finishes and finishing sixteenth in the Championship. Again, there were discussions on contracts, but Button stayed at McLaren for another year. 2016 was a slightly better season, as the car was more powerful, but it was just as unreliable. Button ended the season in Abu Dhabi with a suspension failure, which was his last Formula 1 race. Button took fifteenth in the Championship. Button wanted to retire from F1 at the end of the 2016 season, but was persuaded to stay as an ambassador and reserve driver for McLaren. At the end of the 2017 season, Button was replaced by Lando Norris as the new reserve driver for the 2018 season.

In 2017, Button made his Super GT debut at Suzuka for Team Mugen. His group finished the race twelfth, after two penalties and two punctures. Button joined Team Kunimitsu for a full season in 2018. After a close battle, Button and his teammate, Naoki Yamamoto, won the GT500 title by three points and were the first rookie champions since 2005. Button remained with Team Kunimitsu alongside Yamamoto for 2019. This season wasn’t as strong, and the pair finished eighth in the Championship. Button also drove the two season-ending races of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). In race one, Button finished ninth, and sixteenth in race two. After the 2019 season, Button decided to leave Super GT to explore other racing series.

Button made his endurance racing debut in 1999 at the 24 Hours of Spa in a BMW, but retired after 22 laps due to a fuel tank failure. Later, he agreed to drive most of the 2018-19 WEC seasons in the LMP1 class. His WEC debut was in 2018 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but they had to retire the car due to electrical and engine issues. His team finished fourth at the 6 Hours of Fuji and third at the 6 Hours of Shanghai. Button had to miss a few races in the 2018 season due to Super GT commitments, and he also missed the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans because his fiancée gave birth to their first child. Button then decided to leave the series due to the lack of manufacturers entering the LMP1 class.

In 2020, Button made his debut in British GT at the final round, the three-hour Silverstone, finishing fourteenth. Button drove the 24 Hours of Le Mans again in 2023, finishing 39th overall. Button also ran in three NASCAR Cup Series races, with a best finish of eighteenth. Button drove in the ten-hour Petit Le Mans, finishing fifth. In 2024, Button drove in the 24 Hours of Daytona and finished third overall. 

Button returned to the WEC series in 2024 in the Hypercar class with Team Jota, driving the #38 Porsche 963; his team finished nineteenth in the championship. For the 2025 season, Button remained with Team Jota but now drove the #38 Cadillac V-Series R. This was his best WEC season with four top-ten finishes and a career best of second place at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. The 8 Hours of Bahrain marked his last race, with a 16th-place finish. His #38 team finished 10th in the driver's Championship. 

From a young boy winning his very first kart race in the rain to a Formula 1 World Champion and a respected endurance racer, Jenson Button’s career has been defined by resilience, adaptability, and pure love for the sport. His final WEC appearance closes the chapter on more than three decades behind the wheel, but his legacy remains. Though the chequered flag has waved on his professional racing career, Button’s impact on fans, on teammates, on young drivers will continue to run deep through the world of motorsport. 

Written by Haley Hall 

© Haley Hall 2025