Jenson Button
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Jenson Button (born January 19, 1980 in Frome, Somerset, England) is a British formula one race car driver for the Honda Racing F1 formula one team. Button, although considered as one of the more talented drivers in formula one, claimed his first ever victory only after competing in 113 previous races, with critics attributing his lack of success to the scarcity of breaks or plainly being in the wrong team at the wrong time.
In 2004, Button got involved in a tug-of-war between the BAR Honda team and the Williams team for his services. After the British racer declared that he would leave BAR for Williams for the next two years, and then later on contrasting his statement, Button decided eventually to buy himself out of the Williams contract and tie himself with Honda for the next four years.
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Personal Life
Jenson Alexander Lyons seemed to have motorsports on his blood. Even before he was conceived, his father John Button (during the 1970s well-known in the UK for his so-called Colorado beetle Volkswagen and his VW-Audi dealership with Autoconti Tuning garage at Trowbridge, Wiltshire) has been competing in Rallycross, finishing runner-up on both the 1976 Embassy/RAC-MSA British Rallycross and TEAC/Lydden Rallycross championships. Jenson's father and mother, Simone, separated when he was only seven. He has three older sisters. He has bought a house in Weymouth and a pad in Monaco. In February of 2008, Jenson split up with model girlfriend Florence Brudenell-Bruce [1].
As a fan, he used to love the competition between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost during their prime. He likes to listen to the Eagles, the Pigeon Detectives, and other upbeat songs and likes to watch Quentin Tarantino films, including Pulp Fiction. When he is not on the race track, he likes to play water sports, go cycling or skiing, and listen to music.
Early Career
Karting
Button's father John, a passionate motorsport supporter, bought his son Jenson a racing kart as a gift when he was seven. He started competing in karts in 1988 and a year later, won his first race---the British Kart Super Prix---at the Clay Pigeon circuit in Dorset, England. By the early 1990's Button has cemented himself in karting's upper echelon class as a perennial contender with his back-to-back British Cadet Kart Championships claimed courtesy of his 5 victories in 1990 and 34 wins in 34 starts the following season. From 1991-92-93, Button stomped his dominance in the British Open Kart Championship, with three consecutive triumphs in addition to bagging the British Junior TKM Kart Championship in 1992. In 1994, he reappeared in the British Junior TKM Kart Championship and placed 4th, before stints in the Italian and European Junior International A Kart Championships. In 1995, he placed second in the World Formula A Kart Championship before topping the Senior ICA Italian Kart Championship. Button then garnered a couple of third place finishes in 1996 via the World Cup Kart Championship and the American Kart Championship. In 1997, Button displayed his racing prowess by coming back from 24th place and finishing the last race of the European Formula Super A Championship in third en route to claiming the tournament's title, in the process becoming the youngest kart racer to claim the crown. He culminated his karting career with a win at the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup at Suzuka.
Formula Ford
With a very decorated karting career under his belt, Button received much hype when he climbed to cars at the age of 18. Button, riding his Mygale with Haywood Racing, bagged nine wins enroute to the British Formula Ford Championship in 1997, and in the same year, overcame future Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon for the Formula Ford Festival title in Brands Hatch. The 2nd place finisher in the European Formula Ford Championship was also awarded with the 1998 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award---a 50,000 prize fund that came with a test in a McLaren Formula One car the following year.
Formula Three
Button moved over to Formula Three in 1999, joining the Promatecme team for the British F3 Championship. He claimed pole position in his debut race and a couple of races later, captured his first win in Thruxton which was followed with wins in Pembrey and Silverstone. He went on to claim third place in the series behind Marc Hynes and Luciano Burti and was declared as the top newcomer in the competition. He also added 2nd place finishes in the Macau and Korean Grands Prix and a 5th place finish at the Marlboro Masters to his brief but successful F3 run.
Formula One
By the end of 1999, Button cashed in on his McLaren test prize on the National Circuit at Silverstone with the team's McLaren MP4/13 while also testing for the Prost squad, outpacing Jean Alesi.
Williams (2000)
However, it was Williams who landed the services of the upstart newcomer, but not after winning a "shoot-out" against F3000 winner Bruno Junqueira. He successfully inherited the seat of Alessandro Zanardi, making his debut in Melbourne which unfortunately ended in a retirement after an engine failure. Despite coming short on his first race, Button put up several scoring finishes with his 6th place in Brazil, 4th place in Germany, and 5th places in the UK, Austria, Japan, with his most impressive rookie race taking place at the Spa Francorchamps where he qualified third and finished fifth in the challenging circuit. He ended the season 8th with 12 points, 3 places behind 5th place teammate Ralf Schumacher who scored 24 points.
Benetton (2001)
Despite a "successful" rookie year and a five-year contract with the team, Button was still displaced in 2001 after Williams acquired the services of Juan Pablo Montoya. With a vehicle that was constantly developed as the season progressed, Button never managed to get going with six retirements and only one scoring finish in Germany. He ended 2001 with 2 points and a 17th place finish in the Driver's Championship, way behind the more seasoned Italian teammate Giancarlo Fisichella who was at 11th place with 8 points.
Renault (2002)
Flavio Briatore gave Button a chance to redeem himself in 2002 for the Benetton team, which was then renamed to Renault. The Briton made the most out of his opportunity, producing points and barely missing his first podium in the Malaysian Grand Prix after Michael Schumacher passed him in the last lap due to suspension failure. He also added another 4th in Brazil and a 5th in San Marino in the first half of the year. By midseason however, Briatore announced the promotion of then test driver Fernando Alonso for the next year to replace Button and was quoted as saying "Time will tell if I am wrong." Consequently, Button's performance dipped with three retirements and only a couple of 5th and 6th place finishes to end the season with 14 points, 5 points better than Italian teammate Jarno Trulli.
BAR (2003-05)
2003
The BAR Honda team was quick to acquire the services of Button, with David Richards signing him to a two-year deal with a two-year option. The 22-year old teamed up with former world champion Jacques Villeneuve and for most of the season was able to outshine his more accomplished teammate. By season's end, Villeneuve departed and was replaced by Japanese driver Takuma Sato. Button garnered a season best 4th place finish in Austria and in the season ending race in Japan, enroute to a 9th place in the championship with 17 points.
2004
The following year, Honda finally came up with a more competitive vehicle with the BAR 006, and evidently, Button managed to claim ten podium finishes with his first ever coming in Malaysia. His, and his team's, first pole position came in San Marino where he had his first career second place finish and one of four for the season. He ended the year with 85 points and a 3rd place finish in the driver's championship behind the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello while carrying the load to Honda's second place finish in the constructor's title.
The successful year at Honda was however "tainted" with his off-track contract controversy with his signing of a two-year deal with Williams on the 5th of August 2004. BAR's Richards and Frank Williams both pleaded their cases but the latter said that his acquisition was legal. In the end, the FIA Contract Recognition Board (CRB) ruled, on a hearing on the 16th of October 2004, that Honda had the rights to Button for the 2005 season. Still, Button continued negotiations with Williams, resulting in a deal for the 2006 season.
2005
Honda and Button had a rough start in 2005, with an 11th place finish in the season opener in Australia and a couple of retirements in Malaysia and Bahrain. In addition, the team was disqualified in San Marino after it was found out that the car's fuel system hid fuel, therefore allowing the car to finish above minimum weight despite potentially being able to run lighter during the race. The penalty even included a two-race suspension for the Spain and Monaco Grands Prix. With time on hand, Button made his television commentary debut, for ITV Sport in Monaco. Button made his return on the track with a less desirable 10th place finish in Europe and a retirement in Montreal despite starting on pole position. The 9-race disappointment finally came to a close in the French Grand Prix after scoring his first points on a 4th place finish, followed by a 5th on his home race. He racked his first podium in Hockenheim after qualifying second and finishing the race on third place. Button scored consistently in the seven remaining grands prix, including his second podium in Belgium to cap a year with a 37-point finish which was good for 9th place in the championship.
In another contract controversy, Button decided to back out of his 2006 contract with Williams, citing that the "prospects for that team (to) have declined" for the upcoming season since the team's engine suppliers, BMW, has bought out the Sauber team and will stop supplying engines for them. Frank Williams insisted that the contract must be honored despite Button's claim that the "circumstances had changed." In the end, the dispute was settled after a contract buy-out that paid Williams an estimated $50 million.
Honda Racing (2006-Present)
Honda, officially renamed to the Honda Racing F1 Team, was represented by the British Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello for 2006. Button started the year strongly with a 4th place finish in Bahrain and a podium in Malaysia. He was poised to rack up another podium in Australia as he placed third after starting from pole position only to be derailed by and engine blow that relegated him to a 10th place finish. After a 7th place in San Marino and a 6th place in Spain, Button got into a slump with an 11th place finish in Monaco, was retired in his home race due to engine failure, managed to outqualify teammate Barrichello in Canada only to be passed on by David Coulthard for the last point position, was retired in the United States Grand Prix due to a first lap collision, and suffered another retirement in France because of engine failure.
Just as it seemed as the season was good as gone, Button managed to string up impressive scoring runs starting with his 4th place finish in Germany, and after 112 grands prix, his first ever victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. The victory, which came despite the Briton starting on 14th place (due to grid slot penalty for changing his engine), made Button the second driver after Räikkönen to win a race despite this penalty, and beats the 1989 win of Nigel Mansell which came after a 12th place start at the Hungaroring. His win also was the first by a Briton since David Coulthard's victory in March 2003 and the first win by an English F1 driver since Johnny Herbert's win at the European Grand Prix in 1999. The victory also earned ITV1 a BAFTA under the category of 'Best Sport' during the 2007 British Academy Television Awards. He ended the season with three 4th place finishes in Turkey, China, and Japan, a 5th in Italy, and another podium in the season ender in Brazil.
He ended the year with a strong scoring run, with 35 points, which was more than any driver has produced. Button placed 6th in the championship with 56 points, 26 points better than teammate Barrichello.
Prior to 2007, Button sustained two hairline fractures to his ribs on a karting incident which prevented him from taking part in winter testing. Injury-aside, several F1 personalities have expressed serious doubts on Button's capability to "bring home the bacon," including former British world champion Damon Hill who said, "if he is serious... he has to get himself in a car that is a championship contender."
Skeptics appeared to be correct as Button never got going in 2007, starting the season with a very dismal 15th place finish after enduring considerable understeer throughout the race in addition to the penalty he incurred for speeding in the pit lane. For the next six races, Button was sidelined twice and could not afford no better than an 11th place finish in Monaco. The team finally scored one in France with Button finishing eighth, and despite finishing tenth in next grand prix at his home race, the team announced afterwards that Button will remain with the team for 2008. Nevertheless, it was still an awful season for Button and even he could attest to that, describing his season as "a total disaster", and his car as "a complete dog". His second season at Honda finished with his China Grand Prix stint as his best (5th), scoring 6 points which was good for 15th place in the championship.
The team of Button and Barrichello will return in 2008 with the former confident to declare a better and less problematic finish compared to 2007.
Results and Records
Career Summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | British Formula Ford | Haywood Racing | ? | ? | 9 | 133 | 1st |
| European Formula Ford | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2nd | |
| Formula Ford Festival | Haywood Racing | 1 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | |
| 1999 | British Formula Three | Promatecme UK | 16 | 2 | 3 | 168 | 3rd |
| Macau Grand Prix | Promatecme UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2nd | |
| Masters of Formula Three | Promatecme UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 5th | |
| Korean F3 Superprix | Promatecme UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 2nd | |
| 2000 | Formula One | Williams | 17 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8th |
| 2001 | Formula One | Benetton | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17th |
| 2002 | Formula One | Renault | 17 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7th |
| 2003 | Formula One | British American Racing | 16 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 9th |
| 2004 | Formula One | British American Racing | 18 | 1 | 0 | 85 | 3rd |
| 2005 | Formula One | British American Racing | 17 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 9th |
| 2006 | Formula One | Honda | 18 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 6th |
| 2007 | Formula One | Honda | 17 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 15th |
| 2008 | Formula One | Honda |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW22 | BMW E41 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | BRA 6 | SMR Ret | GBR 5 | ESP 17 | EUR 10 | MON Ret | CAN 11 | FRA 8 | AUT 5 | GER 4 | HUN 9 | BEL 5 | ITA Ret | USA Ret | JPN 5 | MAL Ret | 8th | 12 | ||
| 2001 | Mild Seven Benetton Renault | Benetton B201 | Renault RS21 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 11 | BRA 10 | SMR 12 | ESP 15 | AUT Ret | MON 7 | CAN Ret | EUR 13 | FRA 16 | GBR 15 | GER 5 | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | USA 9 | JPN 7 | 17th | 2 | ||
| 2002 | Mild Seven Renault F1 Team | Renault R202 | Renault RS22 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 4 | BRA 4 | SMR 5 | ESP 12 | AUT 7 | MON Ret | CAN 15 | EUR 5 | GBR 12 | FRA 6 | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA 5 | USA 8 | JPN 6 | 7th | 14 | ||
| 2003 | Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR 005 | Honda RA003E 3.0 V10 | AUS 10 | MAL 7 | BRA Ret | SMR 8 | ESP 9 | AUT 4 | MON DNS | CAN Ret | EUR 7 | FRA Ret | GBR 8 | GER 8 | HUN 10 | ITA Ret | USA Ret | JPN 4 | 9th | 17 | |||
| 2004 | Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR 006 | Honda RA004E 3.0 V10 | AUS 6 | MAL 3 | BHR 3 | SMR 2 | ESP 8 | MON 2 | EUR 3 | CAN 3 | USA Ret | FRA 5 | GBR 4 | GER 2 | HUN 5 | BEL Ret | ITA 3 | CHN 2 | JPN 3 | BRA Ret | 3rd | 85 | |
| 2005 | Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR 007 | Honda RA005E 3.0 V10 | AUS 11 | MAL Ret | BHR Ret | SMR DSQ | ESP Ex | MON Ex | EUR 10 | CAN Ret | USA DNS | FRA 4 | GBR 5 | GER 3 | HUN 5 | TUR 5 | ITA 8 | BEL 3 | BRA 7 | JPN 5 | CHN 8 | 9th | 37 |
| 2006 | Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team | Honda RA106 | Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 | BHR 4 | MAL 3 | AUS 10 | SMR 7 | EUR Ret | ESP 6 | MON 11 | GBR Ret | CAN 9 | USA Ret | FRA Ret | GER 4 | HUN 1 | TUR 4 | ITA 5 | CHN 4 | JPN 4 | BRA 3 | 6th | 56 | |
| 2007 | Honda Racing F1 Team | Honda RA107 | Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 | AUS 15 | MAL 12 | BHR Ret | ESP 12 | MON 11 | CAN Ret | USA 12 | FRA 8 | GBR 10 | EUR Ret | HUN Ret | TUR 13 | ITA 8 | BEL Ret | JPN 11 | CHN 5 | BRA Ret | 15th | 6 | ||
| 2008 | Honda Racing F1 Team | Honda RA108 | Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA |
References
- Jenson Button Crash.Net Profile
- Jenson Button Wikipedia
- Jenson Button: A British Driver Makes Good at Honda Formula 1 Team
- The Big Interview: Jenson Button
