Jenson Button

Jenson Alexander Lyons Button, also known as JB (born January 19, 1980 in Frome, Somerset, England, United Kingdom), is a racing driver who competed in Formula One from to , and did one race in . He was the Formula One World Champion, driving for GP. His car number is 22.
==Before Formula One==
==Formula One Career==
===Williams===
====2000====
Off of his success in the junior Formula 3 categories, Button was invited to complete a test for in November 1999 at the Silverstone Circuit club layout driving at MP4/13, where he impressed team owner Ron Dennis. He was offered a contract with McLaren, but declined.
At the time, he was also completing tests in Formula 3000 for Super Nova Racing and Fortec Motorsport at the Circuito de Jerez. He also tested for Prost Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He was offered a seat on Alain Prost's Formula 3000 test where he was eventually move to his Formula One as a test driver. However, Button did not accept the offer because Prost could not guarantee him an F1 seat.
At the end of the 1999 Formula One Season, Alex Zanardi and prematurely terminated their partnership, leaving a vacant seat on the team. He was invited to participate in a two-part shoot-out test with the team's test driver Bruno Junqueira at Jerez in a FW21B that had been fitted with a new engine. Although engineers for the team preferred Junqueira, the team ultimately felt that Button showed more potential and offered him a three-year contract, which he accepted.
Without a FIA Super Licence, Button was required to complete 300km during testing over the course of two-days. The team originally tried to complete the distance at the Kyalami Circuit in South Africa, but rain and fog hindered their test.
In his debut at the 2000 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified second slowest and later retired from the race with a mechanical failure. But at the next round in Brazil, he out-qualified his teammate Ralf Schumacher and went on to score his first point in Formula One. At the age of 20, this made him the youngest driver to score points in Formula One; A record which stood until Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
Despite his early success in Formula One, Williams were in negotiations with Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya, who was racing with Chip Ganassi Racing in the CART series, had previously served at Williams' test driver in and . When Button's performance slumped slightly in the mid-season, the team was able to secure a contract with Montoya for .
Button's performance improved at the end of the season and he managed to secure 12 points for 8th position in the World Drivers' Championship.
===Benetton===
====2001====
With two years left on his contract with Williams, the British team decided not to sell his contract. Instead, he was loaned to on a two-year deal, after which Williams would decide whether to keep Montoya or go with Button.
The Benetton car was uncompetitive that season, largely because the car was down on horsepower and did not have power steering. The car also completely limited pre-season testing. In the slower car, Button was consistently upstaged by his experienced teammate Giancarlo Fisichella and only managed to score two-points at the German Grand Prix.
To make matters worse, Button had been combating a long-standing shoulder problem as well as a back injury throughout the season, which hindered his physical performance.
Team principal Flavio Briatore believed Button struggled to help the team set up the car due to his inexperience. There was speculation that he would be replaced before the end of the season. His lack of success with Benetton coupled with his extravagant lifestyle earned him the title of "playboy" in some of the press.
===Renault===
====2002====
In , – which had bought Benetton back in 2000 – decided to re-brand the team to Renault. Button had been retained for the season and was doing some personal re-branding of his own during the winter. On Briatore's suggestion, he parted ways with his managers Harald Huysman and David Robertson to join John Byfield. He also spent more time training, including a rigorous nine-day training programme in Africa with his new teammate Jarno Trulli. He also began working closely with the team's engineers and changed his activities outside of racing, in an attempt to shed the "playboy" reputation.
At the first race of the season in Australia, Button's race was cut short by a six-car pile-up in the first corner triggered by a crash between Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher at the front. He bounced back in Malaysia a couple of weeks later, where he was set to take his first career podium, but dropped to P4 near the end of the race due to a suspension issue.
Both the car and Button proved to be faster in 2002 compared to the previous season. Although he was frequently out-qualified by his teammate, he often showed greater race pace.
Despite his growth as a driver, Renault had decided early in the season that they would not keep Button for , opting to promote their test driver Fernando Alonso. Button signed a contract with British American Racing in July for two-years with a two-year option.
===BAR===
====2003====
Button's move to BAR got off to a rough start, as he and his teammate Jacques Villeneuve did not get along well and were not on speaking terms for much of the season, the Canadian agreeing with the "playboy" label. There was drama at first race of the season in Australia when Villeneuve was called to the pits but stayed out for another lap, forcing the team to double-stack their drivers and costing Button time. Villeneuve claimed it was due to a radio issue.
While qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, Button lost control of his car coming out of the tunnel. He slammed into the barriers and then came to rest at the tyre barriers in the Nouvelle Chicane. He was knocked unconscious in the accident and was forced to spend the night under observation in the hospital. Although he wanted to race the following day, the team withdrew him.
Over the course of the season, Button was able to consistently outperform his World Champion teammate, which did not help the Canadian during contract negotiations. Before the end of the season, negotiations with David Richards broke down and Villeneuve was dismissed from the team. The team's test driver and Button's future teammate for Takuma Sato replaced Villenueve for the final race of the season.
====2004====
Partnered with Sato for 2004, Button was now the senior driver for the first time in his career. The team proved to be very competitive, ushering in a series of firsts for Button's career.
In only the second race of the season, he secured his first podium finish with a third place finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix. This was the first of ten podiums he would score that year. He also managed to earn his first career pole position at the San Marino Grand Prix a couple of races later, but was overtaken by the eventual race winner Michael Schumacher early in the race.
He showed great consistency throughout the year, scoring points in every race except for two mechanical failures and one accident. His consistency was enough for him to finish third in the World Drivers' Championship behind the dominant drivers. This also helped BAR score second in the World Constructors' Championship, making this the team's most successful season.
Despite his success with the team, Button signed a two-year contract in August to return to Williams in , leading to a contract dispute. However, Button's original contract with BAR gave the team a two-year option to extend his contract. Button's contract with BAR included a clause that allowed him to change teams if BAR were a risk of losing their engine supplier agreement with . Although the team had renewed their contract with Honda mid-season, Button's management team felt the deal was not definitive and that Button was free to leave the team.
The dispute was taken to F1's Contract Recognition Board in October, which sided with BAR. Button was forced to stay with the team for 2005. In the aftermath of the conflict, Button cut ties with his manager Byfield. The job was taken by Button's friend Richard Goodard.
====2005====
The 2005 season was rough for BAR, as the team struggled to adapt to some aerodynamic regulation changes.
He finished third at the San Marino Grand Prix, but was disqualified by the FIA after the race. The car was found to have a secondary fuel tank, which left the car under the minimum weight requirement when it was drained. The team was subsequently banned for two races. FIA president Max Mosley wanted the team to be banned for the rest of the season, but did not have sufficient evidence to prove the rule violation was intentional.
Upon returning to action, Button's performance improved massively. He qualified for pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, but crashed out of the race while running third. From the French Grand Prix onward, he managed to score points in every race.
The end of the season was again filled with a contract dispute, this time with Williams over the contract he had signed with the team the previous year for . Feeling his future was better at BAR, Button refused to honour the contract. Williams insisted the contract was legally binding and that some of the team's sponsors were dependent on Button racing for the team in 2006. In the end, both parties reached an agreement that allowed Button to buy out his Williams contract for £18 million.
===Honda===
====2006====
At the end of 2005, purchased the remaining 55% ownership of BAR, having purchased the other 45% back in 2004. To reflect the new ownership of the team, BAR was renamed to Honda. Button was partnered with Rubens Barrichello for the season, with both drivers having equal status on the team.
Button out-performed his very experienced teammate throughout the season. At a rainy Hungarian Grand Prix he scored his first career victory from 14th on the grid. This was followed by a string of strong points finishes, scoring the most points out of any driver in the final six races of the season.
====2007====
Button remained with Honda for , but was unable to participate in pre-season testing due to fractured ribs in a karting accident during the winter. This left testing responsibilities to Barrichello and test drivers Christian Klien and James Rossiter.
Button's 2007 was rather uneventful, largely due to shortcoming of the Honda RA107. He consistently qualified outside of the top ten and only managed to score 6 points, although it was still more than his teammate who scored none.
====2008====
Despite a dreadful 2007 season, Button stayed with Honda for the 2008 Formula One Season, feeling more confident after Ross Brawn's appointment as Honda's team principal. However, the car remained uncompetitive and Button again struggled to score points.
At the end of the season, Honda decided to abandon F1 following the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. Having turned down a contract with because their car was not performing at the level Button wanted, his future in F1 depended on someone purchasing the Honda team.
===Brawn GP===
====2009====
Brawn purchased the Honda team, renaming it to Brawn GP. Button stayed with the team, although his new agreement required him to take pay cut. To the surprise of many, the BGP 001 car proved to be extremely competitive, owed largely to the team's double diffuser design.
Button's season started out strong, winning six of the first seven races, three of which were from pole position. The team's competitiveness dipped from the British Grand Prix onward as other teams introduced upgrades to their cars in order to compete with the dominant new team. However, Button still consistently finished in the points and his early domination was enough for him to secure his first and only World Drivers' Championship title.
At the end of the season, Button was offered a contract extension for to race alongside Nico Rosberg. However, he was not keen on staying with the team when he was told it would be purchased by .
===McLaren===
====2010====
Now looking for a new team for his driver, Button's manager Goodard contacted team principal Martin Whitmarsh. Although Whitmarsh was originally skeptical that Button would leave Brawn after winning the championship, contract negotiations took place. Eventually, a three-year deal was signed for Button to drive at McLaren with World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Button started the season strong with two wins early in the year, which turned out to be the only ones he would earn in 2010. He finished on the podium many times throughout the season, with the team earning three 1-2 finishes.
Over the course of the season, he was out-performed by his younger teammate. Button finished fifth in the World Championship, but the team's performance was strong enough to comfortably secure second in the World Constructors' Championship behind .
====2011====
For the McLaren MP4-26 cockpit was moulded to Button's specification, as he was taller than Hamilton. This was contrary to the previous season, in which the McLaren MP4-25 had been designed around Hamilton's size.
With a new car and new Pirelli tyres, Button had a much stronger season. After three podiums in the first six races, Button won the , despite collisions with his teammate and Alonso (the latter of which gave Button a puncture) and a drive-through penalty, leaving him last with over twenty laps to go.
After two retirements, Button finished very strongly, winning in Hungary on his 200th start and in Japan along with six other podiums in the last nine races to come second in the championship.
Although he discussed moving to in , McLaren were eager to extend his contract. Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Button agreed to a three-year contract extension starting in 2013.
====2012====
Button started with a win at the first race, the . However, Button did not do very well until the tenth race, Germany, where he came second after Sebastian Vettel's penalty. He then won in Belgium, leading every lap from pole. Button scored points in most of the remaining races, finishing second in Singapore and winning the final race of the season in Brazil, finishing fifth in the championship.
During the season, Button struggled to extract performance from the new Pirelli tyres, which were dramatically different from the ones in 2011. The new tyres didn't suit his smooth driving style and he frequently struggled to generate heat in the tyres. Attempts to modify the car's brakes throughout the season only exacerbated the issue.
====2013====
For 2013, Button was joined by Sergio Pérez, with Hamilton leaving to take a seat at Mercedes.
The season was not a success for the British driver. The MP4-28 was not as good as expected, struggling with understeer and a lack of downforce, which resulted in severe tyre degradation. Button failed to score a single podium, his best result being a fourth place at the final race of the season.
Outside of the driver seat, Button was appointed a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.
====2014====
The year started out tragically for Button, suffering the sudden death of his father. The Brit considered taking a sabbatical from Formula One, but ultimately decided against it.
Button was joined by F1 rookie Kevin Magnussen. Like its predecessor, the MP4-29 again struggled with understeer and a lack of downforce. At season opener in Australia, Button finished in fourth place, but was promoted to the podium after Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified for a fuel flow violation. Unknown to the Brit, this was his final career podium.
As the season progressed, speculation about Button's future in F1 began to flow. It was believed that Alonso would take Button's seat on the team in 2015, leaving Button to retire. Ron Dennis preferred to drop Button from the team in favour of Alonso, but he was overruled by shareholder Mansour Ojjeh who believed Magnussen should make room for Alonso.
At the end of the season, Button confirmed he would stay with McLaren for with the option to stay with the team an additional year. Part of his new deal included a pay cut.
====2015====
Now partnered with Alonso, Button had a tough year with McLaren, largely due to performance and reliability issues brought on by McLaren's switch to Honda power units. Honda, which had left F1 at the end of 2008, struggled to master the new V6 turbocharged hybrid engines.
As a result, Button was often eliminated after the first round of qualifying and was fighting to pick up points on only a few occasions. At the end, Button finished 16th in the World Drivers' Championship as McLaren had fallen to become the second worst performing team on the grid.
====2016====
Despite the difficulty of the previous season, both Button and McLaren agreed to continue their partnership for another season, with Button earning a 50% pay increase for doing so. Button had been considering a move to Williams, but decided against it.
Although the performance of the new Honda power unit was a big improvement over its predecessor, Button's season was still largely plagued with reliability issues. He was able to challenge for the points in more races, but struggled to finish any higher than sixth position and ended the season with only 5 more points than in 2015.
With little progress being made on the team and both McLaren drivers frustrated, Button informed Ron Dennis at the Belgian Grand Prix that he planned to retire at the end of the season. Dennis, now eager to keep Button on the team, convinced the Brit to take a sabbatical and stay with the team as an ambassador.
On 3 September 2016, McLaren confirmed that Button would be replaced by their 2016 reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne for , but that Button would remain as an ambassador and reserve driver for 2017 and .
====2017====
In his new role as ambassador, Button represented McLaren at some sponsor events and worked with the team in a simulator at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. His contract with the team gave him the option to return as a full-time driver the following year, although he ultimately wouldn't take that option.
On 14 April 2017, McLaren announced that he would race for the team at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, following news of Alonso missing the Grand Prix to participate in the Indianapolis 500. Button agreed to do so after his manager informed him that he was contractually obligated. He retired late in the race after a collision with Pascal Wehrlein.
After the end of the 2017 season, McLaren confirmed Button's role as reserve driver to be replaced by Lando Norris for .
Button was replaced by Romain Grosjean as a director of the GPDA.
==After Formula One==
Button returned to Williams in , serving as the senior advisor to the team.
After discussions with Honda, Button made his debut in the Super GT series in 2017 for Team Mugen at the Suzuka Circuit. After being rejected as a third driver for Acura Team Penske's IMSA SportsCar Championship team, he entered a full season of Super GT with Team Kunimitsu, winning the championship. He returned the following year, but the season was accident-filled and he was not able to defend his title. He did not enter in the series after 2019, no longer wanting to fly between the United States and Japan.
He has also participated in numerous other motor racing categories, including DTM, British GT and Extreme E. This also included some of the 2018 World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
==Personal Life==
On 3 August 2015, two men broke into a rented villa in Saint-Tropez where Button and his wife Jessica were staying with friends. The robbers stole £300,000 worth of belongings including his wife's £250,000 engagement ring while they were sleeping. Reports suggest they may have been gassed prior to the burglary through the air conditioning.
Button was engaged to British singer and actress Louise Griffiths, but ended their relationship in 2005 after five years. Button married his long-time model girlfriend Jessica Michibata in 2014 and the couple divorced a year later. In March 2022, Button then married ex-Playboy model Brittny Ward after postponing their wedding multiple times.
He has a son and a daughter.
==Formula One Statistical Overview==
===Formula One Record===
Year	Entrant 	Team	WDC Points 	WDC Pos. 	Report
 	BMW WilliamsF1 Team 	 	12 	8th 	Report
 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	2 	17th 	Report
 	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 	 	14 	7th 	Report
 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	17 	9th 	Report
 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	85 	 	Report
 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	37 	9th 	Report
 	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team	 	56 	6th 	Report
 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	6 	15th 	Report
 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	3 	18th 	Report
 	Brawn GP F1 Team 	 	95 	 	Report
 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	214 	5th 	Report
 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	270 	 	Report
 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	188 	5th 	Report
 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	73 	9th 	Report
 	McLaren Mercedes 	 	126 	8th 	Report
 	McLaren Honda 	 	16 	16th 	Report
 	McLaren Honda 	 	21 	15th 	Report
 	McLaren Honda 	 	Reserve Driver	Reserve Driver	Reserve Driver
 	McLaren Honda 	 	0 	– 	Report
===Career Statistics===
===Race Wins===
Win Number	Grand Prix
1 	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
2 	2009 Australian Grand Prix
3 	2009 Malaysian Grand Prix
4 	2009 Bahrain Grand Prix
5 	2009 Spanish Grand Prix
6 	2009 Monaco Grand Prix
7 	2009 Turkish Grand Prix
8 	2010 Australian Grand Prix
9 	2010 Chinese Grand Prix
10 	2011 Canadian Grand Prix
11 	2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
12 	2011 Japanese Grand Prix
13 	2012 Australian Grand Prix
14 	2012 Belgian Grand Prix
15 	2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
===Career Results===
*† Did not finish, but completed over 90% of the race-winners' distance and was classified.
*A red background represents as rewarding half points.
==Notes==
==External links==
*Official Website
*Wikipedia article
Category:1980 births
Category:Living people
Category:British Drivers
Category:2000 Début Drivers
Category:Williams Drivers
Category:Benetton Drivers
Category:Renault Drivers
Category:BAR Drivers
Category:Honda Drivers
Category:Brawn Drivers
Category:McLaren Drivers
 
Category:World Championship Winning Drivers