From the moment Jenson Button began karting, he looked special. It didn’t take him long to climb the ladder, progressing from winning the 1991 British Cadet Karting Championship and later European Super A Championship in 1997, before jumping into single-seaters, racing in British Formula Ford, British Formula 3 and then F1 before reaching his 21st birthday.
Throughout his storied professional career, which came to a close after the 8 Hours of Bahrain back in November, there were countless highlights. Finishing sixth in his second F1 start with Williams and his first podium at Sepang with BAR in 2003 stand out.
Then there are the iconic images of him with his eyes as wide as can be after his first Grand Prix win at the Hungaroring in 2006 and the champagne-soaked celebrations with his late father John at the end of the fairytale 2009 title-winning season with Brawn GP.
At no point during his time spent in the F1 pressure cooker did Button ever lose the fire that burned inside. Many drivers see out their Formula One career and step back from racing entirely, not Jenson. It’s why he deserves a send-off on these pages now that he’s done with pro racing.
After a seven-year stint with McLaren, which saw him come achingly close to a second championship in 2011, he decided to tick off items on his bucket list from 2017 onwards. And that’s where his sportscar arc truly began (if you leave to one side his start in the Spa 24 Hours back in 1999!).
Winning the Super GT championship with Team Kunimitsu in 2018 shouldn’t be overlooked as one of his most outstanding achievements behind the wheel. The GT500 field is fierce and full of specialists who know every inch of every circuit in Japan.
“When I look at going from F1 to Super GT, it was so different,” he recounted to DSC in a sit-down late in the WEC season. “No tyre warmers, sharing a car, new tracks, odd seating positions.
“I remember Ron Dennis telling me when I was thinking about doing Le Mans that I would hate it because I’d have to compromise, and I was someone who needs the car to be exactly how I want, to perform.
“But Super GT was a great time in my life, working with Honda again, in Japan. And it kind of meant more to them winning there than it did in F1. Then I jumped into Le Mans with SMP Racing in 2018.”
That SMP Racing stint with the BR01 left a lot to be desired. The car was beyond a challenge to drive and lacked reliability, though his partial season campaign did at least feature a podium finish in Shanghai.
Interestingly, Button came close to joining the LMP1 ranks prior to 2018, perhaps most notably with Nissan and its ill-fated GT-R LM NISMO project. But that wasn’t the only offer on the table.
“I had a couple of options,” Button explained. “Nissan was one of them, and I’m glad I didn’t do it. Best decision I ever made! I had a chance with Peugeot and Toyota over the years, but I decided to stay in F1 for longer. I’m glad I did because the era for endurance racing is right now. The competition is proper.
“I originally did WEC because I wanted to race with a manufacturer, but there weren’t any at the time aside from Toyota. So I did NASCAR, Baja, Rallycross, through Covid, actually nothing, then the Garage 56 experience in 2023.”
His return to La Sarthe with the Garage 56 effort at the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours made for a far more memorable and enjoyable week in France. Alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Jimmie Johnson, Button lapped up a huge amount of attention throughout the historic event, finishing the race after 285 laps in the stunning, rumbling Camaro ZL1.
That wasn’t the end of his relationship with Le Mans and the FIA WEC, of course, as in 2024 he took on a programme with Hertz Team JOTA, at first competing in one of its privately-run Porshce 963s, before the team became Cadillac’s factory outfit in this year and he had to learn the ins and outs of the V-Series.R.
Button has actually sampled a nice selection of the current prototype pack in his two-year spell. A Rolex 24 start in IMSA GTP back in 2024 saw him compete with Wayne Taylor Racing in an Acura ARX-06, meaning he has race starts in three LMDh models on his CV, something few drivers currently boast.
“I didn’t realise how complex these cars were going to be,” he admitted when asked about his experience in the FIA WEC as a full-time. “I want to fine-tune a car, but the number of systems you have here in Hypercar is mind-boggling. It’s taken me a while to get used to it all, and changing cars between seasons from Porsche to Cadillac is hard to do when you’re in your 40s.
“I’ve loved the last two years, though, working with a passionate team and different drivers. We’ve done a great job, and to finish 1-2 in Brazil against this competition was insane.”
Looking to the future, Button’s next chapter is underway. But it’s been an absolute pleasure to have him in the sportscar paddock. A driver with bundles of talent, enthusiasm and class. And who knows, maybe we’ll see him again for a guest drive or two in years to come?
“I might do a race here and there,” he said. “I have unfinished business in NASCAR, for instance, but it won’t be a full championship with me being paid. My life is just so busy, and I miss a lot because I have so much time away from family.
“I need to focus on a few different things so next year I’ll do a bit of racing, some historics maybe, just a lot less.”
Jenson Button’s sportscar arc in pictures
Jenson took on the Spa 24 Hours in 1999 but it was a short-lived event, a DNF after 22 laps with BMW FINA Team Rafanelli.
With his full-time F1 career over, Super GT beckoned in 2017 with Team Mugen.
Jenson Team Rocket hit the Blancpain GT scene in 2019 as part of a collaboration with RJN and partner manufacturer Honda.
Button pictured at Silverstone for a one-off British GT appearance with Team Rocket in 2020.
Champion again! Button clinched the 2018 Super GT Drivers’ and teams’ titles with Naoki Yamamoto in the Raybrig Team Kunimitsu NSX.
A tough Le Mans debut beckoned after signing for Russian LMP1 outfit SMP Racing in 2018.
Button earned his first prototype podium with Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov in the 2018 running of the 6 Hours of Shanghai.
Garage 56 saw him back at Le Mans in 2023 with the iconic NASCAR Garage 56 programme.
Button got his first taste of the current era at Petit Le Mans in 2023 with JDC-Miller Motorsports.
Wayne Taylor Racing then signed the 2009 F1 Champ for the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours. He finished third overall in the #40 Acura ARX-06.
The first of two full WEC seasons then got underway in Qatar for Button as part of the #38 Hertz Team JOTA effort.
More silverware for the Briton came this July, finishing second in a historic 1-2 for JOTA’s Cadillac factory effort in São Paulo.
A spectacular career came to a close on the beach in Bahrain back in November, where Button received the WEC’s new Legacy Award.
Images courtesy of Racing Sportscars/DPPI/JOTA/Jack Webster/Martin Spetz/Super GT
