Jenson Button
McLaren
Jenson Button Fact File
Also Known as:
NA
Age:
30
Nationality:
British
Current Team:
McLaren
Past Team:
Brawn-Mercedes, Honda, Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR
In F1 since:
2000
World Championships:
1
Best Season Result:
1
Races won:
9
Podium finishes:
31
Fastest Laps:
3
Pole Qualifications:
7
Races
189
Current Points:
109
Current Standing:
5
Jenson Button returned to his winning ways in the 2009 season, bagging 6 race wins, and a further 3 podium finishes to finish as the top-man in the Drivers Championship. After the pre-season seat juggling jitters, Jenson managed to win a seat in the new team Brawn GP. Well, Jenson managed to win the very first race, leading a Brawn GP 1-2 finish in the Australian GP in Melbourne. The rest of the season was a dream run, as Brawn GP managed to back Jenson all the way to the Drivers Championship and in turn winning the Constructors Championship for themselves. He may not have been able to repeat his success in 2010, but he still was a force to be reckoned with, with a brilliant performance at multiple instances. He was one of the five contenders for the 2010 driver’s championship which he kept alive till almost the end of the season.
He has been described as "Britain's brightest motor racing hope for more than a decade" and the pressure has not been easy to handle for Jenson Button as he spent most of his career so far struggling to make a good impression. Even a third place finish in 2004 with BAR Honda was not sustainable.
Button began racing and with some astounding results. At age 11, when he participated in his first British Cadet Kart championship, he won all 34 races and from then on, it was a highway ride to Formula 1! Along the way, he also accumulated wins in the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. His last stop before hitting F1 was the Formula 3 Championship where he finished as the top rookie of 1999. He won three races and was placed third in the overall championship. At the end of 1999, Button was testing with McLaren and Prost but he earned his race seat at Williams! Thanks to Alessandro Zanardi quitting, Button was in a position to 'shoot out' against Bruno Junqueira for the vacant seat and Button was the better of the two.
His debut season, 2000, wasn't spectacular rather it was steady. Constantly living under the shadow of the more experienced Ralf Schumacher, Button could not quite live up to expectations, but that had more to do with inexperience at this level. Still, he managed 8 points and a fourth place finish.
In 2001, Button was still under contract with Williams but raced for Benetton! An under-development car meant that he was constantly out of contention and as a result, could only manage a 17th place in the overall championship.
2002 was another strange season for Button and although team-mate Jarno Trulli was the better of the two in testing and qualifying, Button was the better under race conditions. In the end, though, he managed a 7th place in the overall standings including two fourth place finishes. He would have also had a podium in Malaysia, but the suspension failure held him back. Despite some good performances, Button lost his 2003 seat to Fernando Alonso. This switch caused a huge controversy, but team Principal Flavio Briatore would prove prophetic in his announcement "time will tell".
From 2003 to 2005, Button was with the BAR team alongside Jacques Villeneuve and despite some mishaps and miscommunication, Button was largely the more successful of the two drivers. He finished the season in 9th place with his best result being 4th in Austria. The same year, Button also led a lap for the first time ever in the US GP!
Of his seven years in Formula 1, 2004 was by far the best season Button enjoyed on the race track. Starting with his first ever pole position, he also had an unprecedented 10 podium finishes pushing him way ahead of his team-mate. He would finish the year in third place with 85 points.
Button has often found himself in the middle of contractual controversies and 2004 was the worst of all. He announced midway through the season that he would be leaving for Williams for the next two seasons exploiting a loophole in his contract with BAR. Things went so far as to the FIA CRB board who ruled in favour of BAR-Honda. Through all this, Frank Williams maintained that the switch was totally legal, but BAR won.
Things got worse when Button got off to a poor start to the 2005 season managing to get disqualified in San Marino. Some more mishaps including a crash at Montreal where he had started from pole made things a little wobbly, but he got a grip and things improved in the latter half of the season. A couple of podium finishes including points in the last 10 races pushed his position to 9th in the overall standings. And before another contract controversy reared its head, BAR bought out his contract from Williams and ensured he was with them for 2006!
With most of his contractual issues out of the way, Jenson Button was part of the newly formed Honda Racing F1 Team (formed with the purchase of the BAR team) and hopes were high. Honda was touted to have one of the best cars on the circuit. Unfortunately, none of these hopes were realised. After a brisk start that saw Button finish 4th in Bahrain and third in Malaysia, everything pointed to a great season ahead. But lack of reliability on the part of the car forced four retirements in seven races in the middle of the season putting a major spanner in the works! Despite picking up his maiden F1 win in Hungary and some strong finishes towards the end of the season, the damage was found to be irreparable. Button managed to climb up to 6th in the overall standings with 56 points.
With the economic meltdown in 2008, Honda F1 announced the end of its Formula 1 program. This effectively meant that F1 was a non-starter for Button in 2009, but enter Brawn GP and Button's fledgling career has been handed a fresh lease of life -- for a year at least.
Perhaps it is the familiarity with the car and team that kept Button back, but he did nothing of note to warrant such a move from Ross Brawn. A lowly 18th with just 3 points, he did better than only the Force India and retired Super Aguri cars. If he intended to continue in F1 beyond 2009, he needed to do far better.
Well, 2009 turned out to be a jack-in-the-box season, and surprises popped at every chicane. Jenson Button, who finished the 2008 season with just 3 points, trumped the start of the 2009 season with six wins from the first seven races! The Turkish GP was the last race win in the 2009 season for Button, but the perfect start to the season ensured the coveted Drivers Championship. In all, Button accumulated 9 podium finishes, including 6 wins. He also was instrumental in bringing home the Constructors Championship for Brawn GP, contributing 95 out of the 172 points.
Apart from the trackside silverware, Jenson Button also was awarded second place for the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and went on to win the BBC West Country's Sports Personality of the Year at the Bath University. The biggest honour came at the end of the year, as he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire at the New Year’s Honours.
The 2009 Brawn GP fairytale ended in a takeover by Mercedes GP, returning to the starting grid after a 55 year self-imposed exile. Button, on seeing an opening, made a beeline for McLaren and will now race along side Lewis Hamilton for the 2010 season. Just a couple of seasons ago, Button was struggling for a seat, but the rescue operation called Brawn GP has shot his career right into the spotlight!
The 2010 season saw him in a brilliant performance, winning three races and staying in the fight for championship till almost the end of the season. He may have finished a low fifth but his skill is not to be doubted. With a shift in the regulations, introducing KERS and adjustable rear wing, the former world champion in his McLaren will be a force to be reckoned with in 2011.
He has been described as "Britain's brightest motor racing hope for more than a decade" and the pressure has not been easy to handle for Jenson Button as he spent most of his career so far struggling to make a good impression. Even a third place finish in 2004 with BAR Honda was not sustainable.
Button began racing and with some astounding results. At age 11, when he participated in his first British Cadet Kart championship, he won all 34 races and from then on, it was a highway ride to Formula 1! Along the way, he also accumulated wins in the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. His last stop before hitting F1 was the Formula 3 Championship where he finished as the top rookie of 1999. He won three races and was placed third in the overall championship. At the end of 1999, Button was testing with McLaren and Prost but he earned his race seat at Williams! Thanks to Alessandro Zanardi quitting, Button was in a position to 'shoot out' against Bruno Junqueira for the vacant seat and Button was the better of the two.
His debut season, 2000, wasn't spectacular rather it was steady. Constantly living under the shadow of the more experienced Ralf Schumacher, Button could not quite live up to expectations, but that had more to do with inexperience at this level. Still, he managed 8 points and a fourth place finish.
In 2001, Button was still under contract with Williams but raced for Benetton! An under-development car meant that he was constantly out of contention and as a result, could only manage a 17th place in the overall championship.
2002 was another strange season for Button and although team-mate Jarno Trulli was the better of the two in testing and qualifying, Button was the better under race conditions. In the end, though, he managed a 7th place in the overall standings including two fourth place finishes. He would have also had a podium in Malaysia, but the suspension failure held him back. Despite some good performances, Button lost his 2003 seat to Fernando Alonso. This switch caused a huge controversy, but team Principal Flavio Briatore would prove prophetic in his announcement "time will tell".
From 2003 to 2005, Button was with the BAR team alongside Jacques Villeneuve and despite some mishaps and miscommunication, Button was largely the more successful of the two drivers. He finished the season in 9th place with his best result being 4th in Austria. The same year, Button also led a lap for the first time ever in the US GP!
Of his seven years in Formula 1, 2004 was by far the best season Button enjoyed on the race track. Starting with his first ever pole position, he also had an unprecedented 10 podium finishes pushing him way ahead of his team-mate. He would finish the year in third place with 85 points.
Button has often found himself in the middle of contractual controversies and 2004 was the worst of all. He announced midway through the season that he would be leaving for Williams for the next two seasons exploiting a loophole in his contract with BAR. Things went so far as to the FIA CRB board who ruled in favour of BAR-Honda. Through all this, Frank Williams maintained that the switch was totally legal, but BAR won.
Things got worse when Button got off to a poor start to the 2005 season managing to get disqualified in San Marino. Some more mishaps including a crash at Montreal where he had started from pole made things a little wobbly, but he got a grip and things improved in the latter half of the season. A couple of podium finishes including points in the last 10 races pushed his position to 9th in the overall standings. And before another contract controversy reared its head, BAR bought out his contract from Williams and ensured he was with them for 2006!
With most of his contractual issues out of the way, Jenson Button was part of the newly formed Honda Racing F1 Team (formed with the purchase of the BAR team) and hopes were high. Honda was touted to have one of the best cars on the circuit. Unfortunately, none of these hopes were realised. After a brisk start that saw Button finish 4th in Bahrain and third in Malaysia, everything pointed to a great season ahead. But lack of reliability on the part of the car forced four retirements in seven races in the middle of the season putting a major spanner in the works! Despite picking up his maiden F1 win in Hungary and some strong finishes towards the end of the season, the damage was found to be irreparable. Button managed to climb up to 6th in the overall standings with 56 points.
With the economic meltdown in 2008, Honda F1 announced the end of its Formula 1 program. This effectively meant that F1 was a non-starter for Button in 2009, but enter Brawn GP and Button's fledgling career has been handed a fresh lease of life -- for a year at least.
Perhaps it is the familiarity with the car and team that kept Button back, but he did nothing of note to warrant such a move from Ross Brawn. A lowly 18th with just 3 points, he did better than only the Force India and retired Super Aguri cars. If he intended to continue in F1 beyond 2009, he needed to do far better.
Well, 2009 turned out to be a jack-in-the-box season, and surprises popped at every chicane. Jenson Button, who finished the 2008 season with just 3 points, trumped the start of the 2009 season with six wins from the first seven races! The Turkish GP was the last race win in the 2009 season for Button, but the perfect start to the season ensured the coveted Drivers Championship. In all, Button accumulated 9 podium finishes, including 6 wins. He also was instrumental in bringing home the Constructors Championship for Brawn GP, contributing 95 out of the 172 points.
Apart from the trackside silverware, Jenson Button also was awarded second place for the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and went on to win the BBC West Country's Sports Personality of the Year at the Bath University. The biggest honour came at the end of the year, as he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire at the New Year’s Honours.
The 2009 Brawn GP fairytale ended in a takeover by Mercedes GP, returning to the starting grid after a 55 year self-imposed exile. Button, on seeing an opening, made a beeline for McLaren and will now race along side Lewis Hamilton for the 2010 season. Just a couple of seasons ago, Button was struggling for a seat, but the rescue operation called Brawn GP has shot his career right into the spotlight!
The 2010 season saw him in a brilliant performance, winning three races and staying in the fight for championship till almost the end of the season. He may have finished a low fifth but his skill is not to be doubted. With a shift in the regulations, introducing KERS and adjustable rear wing, the former world champion in his McLaren will be a force to be reckoned with in 2011.
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