Jenson Button

Jenson Button

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Entries	186 (184 starts)
Championships	1 (2009)
Wins	9
Podiums	30
Career points	492
Pole positions	7
Fastest laps	3
First entry	2000 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
Last win	2010 Chinese Grand Prix
Last entry	2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
2009 position	1st (95 pts)

Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE (born 19 January 1980) is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren Mercedes, and is the reigning Formula One World Drivers' Champion.

He first drove in Formula One in the 2000 season, with the Williams team, switching in 2001 to Benetton, which in 2002 became Renault F1. After two years with the Enstone-based squad, he moved to BAR in 2003. They were subsequently renamed Honda for the 2006 season, during which Button won his first Grand Prix in Hungary, on 6 August 2006, after 113 races.

Following the withdrawal of Honda from the sport in December 2008, he was left without a drive for the 2009 season, until Ross Brawn led a management buyout of the team in February 2009, and Button suddenly found himself in a highly competitive, Mercedes-engined car. He went on to win six of the first seven races of the 2009 season, equalling a record achieved by only two other drivers: Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, he amassed enough points over his rivals to secure the 2009 World Drivers' Championship, while also helping Brawn GP to secure the World Constructors' Championship in its maiden season.

Early life

Button was born in Frome, Somerset, England and educated at Selwood Middle School and then Frome Community College. He is the son of Simone Lyons and former Rallycross driver John Button, from London, who was well-known in the UK during the 1970s for his so-called Colorado Beetle Volkswagen, whose best overall results were to become the runner-up in both the Embassy/RAC-MSA British Rallycross and TEAC/Lydden Rallycross championships of the year 1976. Button's parents are divorced, and he has three older sisters.

Racing career

Button began karting at the age of eight, after his father bought him his first kart, and made an extraordinarily successful start. He won all 34 races of the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship, along with the title. Further successes followed, including three triumphs in the British Open Kart Championship. In 1997, he became the youngest driver ever to win the European Super A Championship, and won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup as well, precipitating a move into car racing.

Aged 18, Button contested the British Formula Ford Championship with Haywood Racing and won the title, with nine race wins. He also triumphed in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, ahead of future Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. At the end of 1998, he won the annual McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award. His prize included a test in a McLaren Formula One car, which he received at the end of the following year. He was shown around a Formula One pit lane by a reporter and met Ross Brawn who, after speaking to Jenson said "I hope to see you again" to which Jenson replied, "You will see me again".

Button entered the British Formula Three Championship in 1999, with the Promatecme team. He won three times – at Thruxton, Pembrey and Silverstone – and finished the season as top rookie driver. He was third overall in the championship, behind Marc Hynes and Luciano Burti, and finished fifth and second respectively in the Marlboro Masters and Macau Grand Prix, losing out by 0.035 seconds to winner Darren Manning in the latter.

Formula One

2000: Williams

At the end of 1999, Button had his McLaren test prize at Silverstone, and also tested for the Prost team. A vacant race seat became available at the Williams team, following the departure of Alex Zanardi, and team boss Frank Williams arranged a 'shoot-out' between Button and Formula 3000 racer Bruno Junqueira. Button won the seat, being told only 15 minutes before the launch of the car.

At the first race in Australia he could have scored a point on his debut but retired due to engine failure. His best qualifying of the season occurred at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, he qualified 3rd and finished 5th. He made few mistakes during the season, the only notable one being at Monza. Under safety car conditions he swerved to avoid the pack which had bunched up and subsequently crashed into the barrier. He finished eighth in the 2000 Drivers' Championship and was outscored by his more experienced teammate, Ralf Schumacher, who scored 24 points to Button's 12. By the end of the season Button was frequently impressing, particularly on a drying track in Hockenheim and Indianapolis, and the speed at which he learnt the notoriously tricky Suzuka track.

2001: Benetton

Button at the 2001 French Grand Prix driving for Benetton.

In 2001, although still under contract with Williams, Button drove for Benetton, which had just been purchased by Renault. He had a dismal season; despite promises that the car would be competitive, the car, which was constantly under development that year, was never competitive, while Button was generally out-qualified by his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. His best result of the season was finishing fifth at the German Grand Prix, with him ultimately finishing a disappointing 17th in the Drivers' Championship. Unable to match his team-mate, he was dubbed a "playboy".

2002: Renault

In 2002, Renault renamed Benetton as Renault F1. Though his teammate, Jarno Trulli, routinely outpaced him in qualifying, Button usually had the superior race pace. He narrowly missed third place (and his first podium) at the Malaysian Grand Prix, being passed by Michael Schumacher in the last lap due to a suspension failure in his Renault, and ultimately finished the race in fourth. The Brazilian Grand Prix gave him another fourth place, and he finished seventh in that year's Drivers' Championship, comfortably ahead of Trulli.

For 2003, Renault team principal Flavio Briatore replaced Button with Fernando Alonso, previously test driver for the team. Despite a "huge outcry", Briatore stated "time will tell if I am wrong." In 2005, Alonso won the Drivers' Championship with Renault, while Button had yet to win a race and was involved in his second contract dispute in two years. The Times quoted Briatore as saying "Jenson is a fine driver, but there were too many contracts, too many things in the background."

2003–2005: BAR

After his replacement at Renault, in early 2003 Button joined the BAR team, alongside former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. As the season progressed, Button gained the upper hand in qualifying and also enjoyed better races. Button's best result of the season was fourth place in Austria. However, he crashed heavily during Saturday practice in Monaco, causing him to miss both the race and the following testing session at Monza. By the end of the season, though, things were looking up, and at the United States Grand Prix, Button led a lap for the first time. He finished ninth in the Drivers' Championship that year, with 17 points.

Button behind the wheel for British American Racing at the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

In 2004, Button and BAR-Honda made significant progress, and BAR finished second in the Constructors' Championship. Button scored his first ever podium finish with a third place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, and added 9 more throughout that season. Button and BAR's first pole position came in April at the San Marino Grand Prix, in which he finished second. He ended the season third overall, a then career-best, and only behind the two dominant Ferrari drivers, with 85 points.

Despite his success with BAR, on 5 August 2004 Button revealed that he had signed for Williams for the next two years, sparking a controversial contract dispute. BAR boss David Richards fought to keep his driver, though Frank Williams maintained that the switch was entirely legal. The FIA Contract Recognition Board (CRB) held a hearing on 16 October in Milan, Italy, to determine Button's 2005 status, concluding that he was contracted to BAR-Honda for the 2005 season.

Button at the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix, where he took pole position.

A poor start to 2005 included disqualification at the San Marino Grand Prix. Scrutineers found that the fuel system of the car 'hid' fuel, allowing the car to finish above minimum weight despite potentially being able to run lighter during the race. The adjudged contravention of the rules resulted in a two-race ban for the team, allowing him to make his television commentary debut, for ITV Sport in Monaco. Button took the second pole position of his career at Montreal. However, he started the race poorly, and crashed on lap 46, while in third place. Despite having to wait until the halfway point of the season to score his first World Championship point, things improved considerably towards the end of the year. After a fourth place finish at the French Grand Prix, Button placed himself second on the grid for his home grand prix at Silverstone. Unfortunately, another slow start saw him lose position, and poor race pace dropped him through the field to finish fifth. Button has always performed well at the Hockenheim circuit, and 2005 was no exception. He qualified his BAR-Honda in second place for the German Grand Prix, and then went on to finish third, his first podium finish of the season.

In 2005, Button again found himself the subject of contractual controversy. On 21 September 2005, BAR confirmed that Button would once again drive for them in 2006 – having bought out his contract from Williams for a reported £20m – where he would partner ex-Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello.

2006–2008: Honda

Button at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix.

At the start of 2006, BAR Honda was fully purchased by Honda, and became a full-works team, changing its name to the Honda Racing F1 Team. The season had highs and lows – Button had a dismal race at home, but took his first ever Grand Prix win in Hungary.

The early part of the season proved difficult; at the first round, he scored five points with 4th place, and finished on the podium in Malaysia. In Australia, he qualified on pole, but was overtaken on the run to the first corner by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen after a safety car period; he was running 5th in the race, before his engine blew at the last corner on the last lap. He stopped short of the finish line to avoid an engine penalty. At his home race at Silverstone, he qualified 19th after he lost time being weighed, and his team failed to get him on track quickly enough. He spun off on lap eight due to an engine oil leak.

Button out-qualified his teammate Rubens Barrichello at the Canadian Grand Prix.

At the Canadian Grand Prix, Button out-qualified Barrichello for the first time since Imola, but finished outside the points in ninth. He retired at the United States Grand Prix, in a first lap collision involving several drivers and again at the French Grand Prix due to an engine failure. At the German Grand Prix, Button was again pulled into the weighbridge, but went on to qualify fourth. After running third for a while in the race, Button eventually finished fourth.

File:JensonButtonpodium.jpg

Button celebrating his first win on the podium at Hungary, alongside drivers Pedro de la Rosa (left) and Nick Heidfeld (right).

Button took the first win of his career in 2006 at a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix – the 113th Grand Prix start of his career. He started 14th after a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change. The race was badly affected by heavy rain, and Button passed a number of drivers in the early laps – including championship contender Michael Schumacher – and was up to fourth by lap 10. Following the retirement of leading drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, he went on to win the race by 31 seconds from Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld. Alonso was behind Button on the racetrack when he retired, although Button still had one pitstop to make. Button's win bettered Nigel Mansell's 1989 win from 12th on the grid at the Hungaroring. Button was the first British driver to win since David Coulthard in March 2003, and the first English driver to win since Johnny Herbert won the 1999 European Grand Prix. He was the second driver after Räikkönen to win a race despite a grid penalty for changing an engine. At the British Academy Television Awards 2007, Button's first win earned ITV1 a BAFTA under the category of 'Best Sport'.

Button finished fourth or fifth at each of the next four races and finished the season with a podium finish at the final round in Brazil. Over the last six races of the season, Button scored more points (35) than any other driver.

Button at the 2007 Honda Open Day.

Button driving for Honda at the 2007 British Grand Prix.

In 2007, Button again competed with Honda alongside Barrichello. He was unable to take part in winter testing, prior to the season because of two hairline fractures to his ribs, sustained in a karting incident in late 2006. Former British world champion Damon Hill aired doubts over Button's hopes to be a championship contender at Honda over the coming season, saying, "if he is serious... he has to get himself in a car that is a championship contender." Alan Henry writing in The Guardian 2007 F1 season guide, predicted: "Button will win a couple more races but is not a title contender." He was proved to be wrong, as the Honda RA107 proved to be aerodynamically poor.

At the first race of the season in Australia, Button only managed to qualify 14th after handling problems. The race was no better, as he endured considerable understeer throughout, was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane and finished 15th. The next two races in Malaysia and Bahrain were just as unsuccessful, Button finishing 12th behind team-mate Barrichello in Malaysia, and not even completing a lap in Bahrain, after colliding with Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard at Turn 4. At the French Grand Prix, Button finished eighth, earning his and Honda's first point of 2007. Following the British Grand Prix, it was announced that Button would remain with Honda for 2008.

Button driving for Honda at the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix.

As Button's place as the pre-eminent British driver in Formula One was effectively taken by Lewis Hamilton, former champion Nigel Mansell criticised Button, saying: "Jenson should have won more races, he has under-performed and that is down to him." Honda team boss Nick Fry defended his driver, saying: "I would refute everything Nigel has said, and particularly I think his comments about Jenson’s reputation for partying are about five years out of date...his increasing maturity and the way he changed his lifestyle is extremely noticeable." Button made no secret of his frustration regarding his current situation; he described his 2007 season as "a total disaster".. Button did, however, record several impressive outings towards the end of the season, especially when rain was prominent.

Button stayed with Honda for 2008, and continued to be partnered by Barrichello. The Honda RA108 proved to be uncompetitive, and he scored his only points at the Spanish Grand Prix with 6th place, but did not finish in the wet in front of his home crowd at Silverstone, where Barrichello finished third. On 5 December 2008, Honda announced that they were quitting Formula One, due to the global economic crisis, leaving Button's chances of a drive in 2009 dependent on the team finding a buyer.

2009: Brawn GP

Button leading the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix.

On 5 March 2009, it was announced that the former Honda team would become Brawn GP, following a buy-out by Ross Brawn, the previous team principal of Honda Racing. Button and Rubens Barrichello were confirmed as the team's drivers for 2009.

Button took pole position in Australia, his first for the team and fourth ever, with Barrichello in second place. Button led the race from start to finish to win the race ahead of his team-mate, the first time a team had scored a 1-2 finish on their debut since 1954. One week later, he secured two poles and two wins in a row, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, setting the fastest lap in order to jump ahead of Jarno Trulli and Nico Rosberg during the first pit stops. The race was stopped due to heavy rain and, with less than 75% of the race completed, only half points were awarded. In this race Button scored his first hat trick (pole, win and fastest lap) and his first fastest lap.

At the Chinese Grand Prix, Button finished third behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Button won the fourth race of the season, in Bahrain, from fourth on the grid, finishing ahead of Vettel and Trulli, who had set pole position. After the first improvements of 2009, in Barcelona, Button took pole again after complaining of balance problems for the Spanish Grand Prix. He went on to win his fourth race of the season, after Barrichello stayed on a three-stop strategy, leading him to drop back behind Button.

Button at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Button scored his fourth pole position of the season, and his first at the Principality, after a last gasp lap, which was also his fastest in qualifying, despite complaints over balance issues over the whole weekend. He was also the heaviest car out of the top eight apart from Barrichello, in a similar situation to Australia. He went on to take the win from his teammate to take his first hat trick of wins, and lead Brawn's third 1-2. Button made a good start to the race and built a lead during the first stint by handling the soft tyres better than Barrichello.

In Turkey, Button qualified in second place behind Vettel, but in front of team-mate Barrichello. After being somewhat uncompetitive during Friday's practice sessions, Button took the lead early in the race after Vettel ran wide, allowing Button through. Vettel, by virtue of a light fuel load after his first stop, was able to close right up on Button, but was ultimately unable to overtake. Button's two-stop worked perfectly, leaving Vettel's three-stop strategy uncompetitive. Button won his sixth race of the season, ahead of Webber and Vettel, with Barrichello giving Brawn their first retirement of the season, after a gearbox failure.

At Silverstone, Button failed to give home fans the win they might have expected, with a disappointing weekend. He was outperformed by Barrichello, starting in sixth, but ultimately bogging down in ninth place on the first lap. He managed to get up to sixth, and was gaining on the slowing Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg in the closing stages. He managed to close the gap to under two-tenths, with only five seconds between him and third-placed Barrichello. Button finished fifth at the German Grand Prix, won by Mark Webber, which reduced his points lead to 21 ahead of Vettel.

Button at the 2009 German Grand Prix.

Brawn predicted a strong result for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as the Brawn car had been heavily updated and was usually at its best in hot conditions. However, in the second part of qualifying, Barrichello experienced a suspension failure (causing a huge accident for Felipe Massa), leaving the team to spend much of Q3 checking Button's car. He only had time for one qualifying run, which left him a season-worst 8th on the grid, subsequently finishing seventh in the race. After the World Council meeting, which confirmed the cost cutting plan for 2010, Button was one of the first to offer support of the cost cutting for 2010.

Button's title hopes took another slide in Valencia. After qualifying only fifth compared to Barrichello's third, he was blocked at the start of the race by Vettel and lost places. He managed to recover to finish in seventh place, but with Barrichello taking the win ahead of Lewis Hamilton, his points gap was reduced to 18 ahead of his team-mate. Button suffered in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, failing to reach the third round of qualifying. On the first lap in the race, Romain Grosjean sent Button into a spin, and as a result, Hamilton and Alguersuari collided while trying to avoid the incident, before Grosjean hit Button again. All four cars retired on the spot; it was Button's first retirement of the season, and it shortened his championship lead to 16 points, with Barrichello coming seventh.

Button recovered at Monza; he qualified sixth, behind Barrichello, before finished second, behind his team-mate, giving Brawn another one-two. In Singapore, Button qualified 12th, but was promoted to 11th on the grid when Nick Heidfeld was sent to the back for running an underweight car in qualifying. Barrichello began the race in ninth place, having suffered a five-place penalty. Button opted to run the car very heavy on fuel, and spent much of the race closely behind his team-mate and Heikki Kovalainen, before a series of very quick laps before his second stop enabled him to leapfrog both cars. Button initially appeared to have the pace to challenge Vettel for fourth place, but heavily worn brakes caused him to back off and protect his fifth position. Barrichello's sixth place meant that Button was able to extend his championship lead to 15 points, with three races to go.

A week later, in Japan, he qualified seventh, but along with his team-mate was demoted five places, for failing to slow for a yellow flag; he started the race from 10th position, subsequently finishing in eighth, one place behind his team-mate. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Button was hampered in qualifying by a poor choice of tyres in the wet weather and could only achieve fourteenth position. His championship campaign was boosted by Vettel qualifying sixteenth, but team-mate and closest rival Barrichello qualified on pole. In the race, Button was aided by a first-lap incident, and was up to seventh by lap seven. He ran as high as second place by halfway, but ultimately finished fifth, taking enough points to secure the 2009 championship with one round to spare. At the final race of the season, in Abu Dhabi, Button qualified behind Barrichello again, but was able to achieve a podium by coming third.

With 169 starts, Button made the second-highest number of race starts before becoming World Champion. Only Nigel Mansell (with 176 starts, at the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix) had competed in more races than Button before winning the World Championship. Button wrote a book about his 2009 season, entitled "My Championship Year", which was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on 19 November 2009.

On 30 November 2009, Button was announced as one of the ten men and women shortlisted for the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. At the awards ceremony on 13 December 2009, Button was awarded second place. On 6 December, Button won the BBC West Country's Sports Personality of the Year at the University of Bath. He won the main award against racehorse trainer Paul Nicholls, cricketer Marcus Trescothick and golfer Chris Wood. He also won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award.

Button was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for his services to motorsport. Button's home town, Frome, has named a street, Jenson Avenue, after him, and has awarded him the Freedom of the town. The town also intends to name a new bridge over the River Frome 'The Jenson Button Bridge'.

2010: McLaren

Button at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Following the buy-out of Brawn by Mercedes, Button announced on 18 November 2009 that he would be leaving the team to move to multiple-championship winning team McLaren for the 2010 season. He signed a three-year deal for a reported £6 million per season to drive alongside former world champion Lewis Hamilton. Button told the BBC he moved to McLaren because he was looking for a new challenge, insisting Brawn were offering more money but that he wanted the motivation and challenge from competing head-to-head with Hamilton.

After a seventh place finish in the opening round in Bahrain, Button won the second race in Australia from fourth on the grid. Button was the first to come in for slick tyres on a damp but drying track, which lifted him to second place after the other drivers had pitted. He inherited the lead when Vettel retired with brake problems and maintained his lead to the end without changing his tyres again. His victory made him the thirteenth driver in Formula One history to have won Grands Prix for at least three different constructors. Following an eighth place finish in Malaysia, Button went on to win his second race of the season from fifth on the grid in China, by staying on slick tyres while most of the other drivers pitted for intermediates, he was promoted to second place. However, the rain didn't come, and the other drivers had to pit again for dry tyres. Subsequently, he went on to lead the Drivers' Championship, with McLaren leading the Constructors' Championship..

In Spain he was leapfrogged by Michael Schumacher and finished a frustrated fifth, before retiring in Monaco due to an overheating engine on lap three. As a result, Button lost his lead in the Championship, dropping to fourth behind both Red Bull drivers and Alonso. Button then finished second in Turkey after Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, who were leading the race, collided with each other. His own teammmate Hamilton took the win, after the two of them nearly collided themselves after a few corners of wheel-to-wheel racing. This promoted Button to second overall in the Championship, just behind Webber. In Canada he followed up this result and remained second in the Championship, 3 points behind his teammate Hamilton. At the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Button finished 3rd and maintained 2nd place in the title race.

Driving style

Button is known for his textbook smooth driving style. This allows him to perform well in tricky conditions, such as his maiden win in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Many believe using his smooth style he can conserve his tyres better during race conditions than other drivers.

Coupled with his driving style, Button has demonstrated intelligent race decisions such as his pit stop strategy during the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. This has led fans to draw similarities with the driving style and racecraft of Alain Prost. Parallels have also be made with the McLaren partnership and rivalry to 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton to the Prost vs Ayrton Senna days of the 1980s.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1998	British Formula Ford Championship	Haywood Racing	15	7	9	7	12	133	1st
	Formula Ford Festival		1	1	0	0	1	N/A	1st
1999	British Formula Three	Promatecme UK	16	3	4	4	7	168	3rd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	5th
	Korea Super Prix		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
	Belgian Procar	BMW FINA Team Rafanelli	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2000	Formula One	BMW WilliamsF1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	12	8th
2001	Formula One	Mild Seven Benetton Renault	17	0	0	0	0	2	17th
2002	Formula One	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	14	7th
2003	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	15	0	0	0	0	17	9th
2004	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	18	0	1	0	10	85	3rd
2005	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	16	0	1	0	2	37	9th
2006	Formula One	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team	18	1	1	0	3	56	6th
2007	Formula One	Honda Racing F1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	6	15th
2008	Formula One	Honda Racing F1 Team	18	0	0	0	0	3	18th
2009	Formula One	Brawn GP F1 Team	17	6	4	2	9	95	1st
2010	Formula One	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	14	2	0	1	6	165*	4th*

^* Season in progress.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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	MON	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 RA808E 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL 10	BHR Ret	ESP 6	TUR 11	MON 11	CAN 11	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 17	HUN 12	EUR 13	BEL 15	ITA 15	SIN 9	JPN 14	CHN 16	BRA 13		18th	3
2009	Brawn GP F1 Team	Brawn BGP 001	Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8	AUS 1	MAL 1‡	CHN 3	BHR 1	ESP 1	MON 1	TUR 1	GBR 6	GER 5	HUN 7	EUR 7	BEL Ret	ITA 2	SIN 5	JPN 8	BRA 5	ABU 3			1st	95
2010	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-25	Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8	BHR 7	AUS 1	MAL 8	CHN 1	ESP 5	MON Ret	TUR 2	CAN 2	EUR 3	GBR 4	GER 5	HUN 8	BEL Ret	ITA 2	| SIN 4	JPN	KOR	BRA	ABU	4th*	165*

^* Season in progress. ^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Personal life

Like many Formula One drivers, Button resides in the principality of Monaco. He also has properties in the United Kingdom, Bahrain and owns a house on the island of Guernsey. His hobbies include mountain biking, competing in triathlons and body boarding, and his car collection includes a Nissan GT-R, a 1956 VW Campervan, a Bugatti Veyron and a Honda S600.

He was engaged to the actress and singer Louise Griffiths before ending their five year relationship in May 2005. He has also dated actress Rose McGowan and models Florence Brudenell-Bruce and currently Jessica Michibata after a short break.

External links

• Official Website
• Jenson Button on Twitter
• Jenson Button profile and statistics
• Jenson Button career statistics
• F1Fanatic – Who's Who: Jenson Button
• Jenson Button Fan Website – Stats & Bio