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Jenson Button MBE is a celebrated British racing driver best known for winning the Formula One World Championship in 2009.
In his on-going motor racing career, spanning 26 years, Jenson has competed in nearly 20 different racing championships, with 18 years spent in Formula One. While racing in Formula One career, he achieved 50 podium finishes, and finished the Championship in first, second and third place.
Jenson retired from Formula One in 2017 and the following year made the move to sportscar racing, winning the Super GT – GT500 Championship. More recently, Jenson has competed in the 2024 FIA World Endurance and the IMSA SportsCar Championships.
He was appointed an MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to motorsport and was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame in 2017.
Jenson has worked with a number of companies, including Hackett London, Hilton, Hugo Boss, Santander, Tag Heuer and Vodafone.
He joined Sky Sports F1 commentary team in 2018 and, in 2023, he also appeared in the Disney+ documentary Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story to talk about the team’s rise to success and his world championship win.
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Jenson’s racing career started when he was just eight years old when he started karting, having received a 60cc go-kart for Christmas. When he was 11 years old, he won the British Cadet Kart Championship, setting a record by winning all 34 races. His success in karting continued as he claimed the British Open Kart Championship in 1997.
Jenson transitioned from karting to car racing in 1998, entering the British Formula Ford Championship with the Haywood Racing team. He won the championship and the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. His performance earned him the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, a significant accolade that recognized his potential and won him a test drive with the McLaren Formula 1 team.
In 1999, Jenson competed in the British Formula 3 Championship, finishing third overall. His success in Formula 3 led to a test with the Williams Formula 1 team, where he impressed team boss Frank Williams.
At the age of 20, Jenson made his Formula 1 debut with the Williams team, becoming the youngest British driver to start a Grand Prix. Despite his inexperience, he showed promise with several strong performances, including a sixth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After one season with Williams, Button moved to Benetton for 2001 and 2002 seasons.
In 2003, he moved again this time joining the British American Racing team (which later became Honda), partnering with Jacques Villeneuve. In 2004, Jenson achieved his first podium finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix, a season that he would finish third in the Championship.
Jenson was left without a team for the 2009 season after Honda withdrew from Formula 1. In February 2009, Ross Brawn created Brawn GP and recruited Jenson Button as a driver. He went went on to win a record-equalling six of the first seven races of the 2009 season, securing the World Drivers’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix, having led on points all season.
Jenson went on to race with McClaren, creating a competitive team with Lewis Hamilton. He drove his last F1 race at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2017.
Jenson is committed to a number of charitable and philanthropic causes. In 2010, he created The Jenson Button Trust, which selects and nominates a number of charitable beneficiaries that receive funding. He is also a sport ambassador for both The Prince’s Trust and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, and a patron of Make-A-Wish Foundation UK granting the wishes of terminally ill children and young people.
In 2014 he launched the Pink for Papa campaign following the death of his father to raise funding for the Henry Surtees Foundation.
Jenson is part of Johnnie Walker’s Join The Pact initiative to promote responsible drinking.
Jenson has authored, co-authored and provided a Foreword in a number of books. His first solo book Jenson Button: My Life on the Formula One Rollercoaster was published in 2002 and shares his story of joining the BMW-Williams team and racing in Formula One only weeks after his 20th birthday. His later books include A Championship Year, Jenson Button: Life to the Limit, and How to be an F1 Driver.
