Jenson Button

**Jenson Alexander Lyons Button** is a British retired racing driver. He drove on Formula 1.5 driver for 13 seasons and celebrated 5 drivers championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2013, making him the most successful driver in history of Formula 1.5

## Career

### 2000-2002 : Early promise and Maiden Championship

Jenson would start his career with the Williams team in 2000, alongside Ralf Schumacher. Despite having shown impressive race pace early in the season, Button arrived at his first-ever home Grand Prix with only two points to his teammate's thirteen. Undaunted, an impressive lap on Saturday would put him onto the front row, and ahead of his teammate. Although Schumacher would eventually take the race win ahead of his young teammate, to have climbed so quickly to the front of the Formula 1.5 grid was testament to Button's limitless potential. Though he experienced some frustration as he tried to find consistency with the setup of his Williams, a second podium would follow at Austria, before a maiden Grand Prix victory would present itself in the forest at the Hockenheimring, though it didn't come easily. Having qualified in thirteenth place, Button embarked upon a spirited drive through the pack. By the time the chequered flag fell, the young Briton's Williams led the field by five seconds from Sauber's Mika Salo. This would be the first of many performances across Button's career that would earmark him as a hugely gifted wet weather racer. A more routine win from pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix would allow Button to claim fourth place in the Drivers Championship in a hugely impressive debut season.

Despite so impressing the paddock in his rookie year, Button would move to Benetton as Williams left the category. This showed no signs of being a wise career move as the Benetton in Button's hands was good for only four points across the first eleven Grands Prix of the season. Indeed, Flavio Briatore offered him the ultimatum of proving himself to be "super-good" or leaving the team. Button's answer was to record a podium finish at Hockenheim and a win at Suzuka: two circuits which, even at this early stage in his career, stood out as clear favourites.

Having secured a place at the team for the 2002 season, where it would be rebranded as the Renault factory team, Button spent the off-season building a far-stronger rapport with his engineers. The result? By the end of the San Marino Grand Prix, the fourth race of the season, he had already doubled his career win tally. Though he was less dominant for the remainder of the season - managing two further wins and two more second places, but also three non-points finishes and four retirements - Jenson Button was the class of the field, flattening teammate Jarno Trulli to claim his maiden Drivers Championship at only 22 years of age.

### 2003-2006 : The Button Era

With Renault leaving Formula 1.5, Jenson Button was once again left needing a new team. As the reigning Champion, he was in demand; ultimately, British American Racing - still seen very much as the team of 1998 Formula 1.5 champion Jacques Villeneuve, secured his signature. To the surprise of many pundits, it was obvious that Button outclassed Villeneuve; race wins at Sepang, Imola, Spielberg and Suzuka (yet again) were the highlights of a season where the defending Champion finished off the podium only once - fourth place at Barcelona.

Rather than trying for a hat-trick of Formula 1.5 titles, Button and BAR spent the 2004 season outside of Formula 1.5, trying their luck in F1.0, they would, however, return to the sport a year later.

It started horribly for Button, with his return to the category he had so dominated shrouded in ignominy. Button, demotivated by a contract dispute in which BAR had resolutely blocked him from returning to Formula 1.5 with Williams, appeared demotivated. More concerningly still, BAR - shorn of team manager Dave Richards - languished sixth and last in the Constructors Championship after nine races (three of which they had been either disqualified or banned from), comfortably behind even Minardi. That said, it was always a question of when and not if Button would get his act together, and the finest streak of results in his entire career (111112112) would see him climb from tenth place to first in the Drivers Championship. This was a lead he would not relinquish, and the 25-year-old Button was crowned a three-time Formula 1.5 Champion.

When Honda bought out BAR in 2006, the extra funding allowed them to provide a car that would furnish Button with his most dominant season yet: 116 points and nine wins out of eighteen races meant that Button cruised almost unchallenged to a fourth Formula 1.5 title in consecutive attempts.

### 2007-2008 : The Earth Car and No Suzuka

For 2007, a few things changed for Jenson Button. For one thing, his car changed colour to the bold blue and green of the Honda "Earth Car" which so polarised opinion. For another, the FIA took away his favourite circuit. Jenson Button had long been regarded as the master of Suzuka Circuit. Instead of Suzuka, Toyota had sunk enough money into the Fuji Speedway's bid for a Formula One return that Suzuka would be usurped as the host of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Button ultimately experienced his two worst seasons in the sport, arguably even worse than 2001 at Benetton. Twice, he would finish the season in tenth place in the Drivers Championship without a single win.

### 2013-2014 : He's Still Got It

Following four seasons away from the sport, Jenson Button's return to the Formula 1.5 grid in with McLaren Mercedes in 2013 was headline news. Now an older and wiser man, the 33-year-old Button had returned to add to his legacy, having already stated his intention to stay at the Woking team until he retired. There were plenty of concerns about the MP4-28's aerodynamic performance: when the team themselves admit to not understanding how the car would behave. However, Button only required three Grands Prix to record his comeback race win. Then, from the German to the Japanese Grand Prix (back at Suzuka), he recorded seven successive podiums, four of them wins, to cement his lead at the top of the Championship.

Unfortunately for Button, it was very apparent by the time the 2014 season rolled around that the McLaren was no longer the fastest car in Formula 1.5. That honour belonged to Ferrari, who had just returned to the sport after a 22-year absence and were making the most of their huge budget to have a dalliance with Formula 1.5. The Ferrari was a far quicker car than the McLaren, however Button took the fight to Fernando Alonso, managing to record six more race victories (including yet another crazy four-in-five hot streak, this time to conclude the season) as he clung stubbornly onto the coattails of Alonso's Ferrari. Bizarrely for the five-times Champion, it was his second-place season which arguably gained him the most kudos.

### 2015-2017 : A Sad Farewell

The McLaren Honda Formula 1.5 project for 2015 was seen as something enormously exciting: the defending Champion signed to partner the five-times Champion, powered by the engine manufacturer that had delivered him more than half of his Championships. It quickly proved not to be the case. There would be one final flash of Button brilliance as he took his 41st and final Formula 1.5 victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2016, but ultimately the McLaren Honda project was an unmitigated disaster for him.

## Results

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 u/Aislabie : "Jenson Button: A legend of Formula 1.5"