Farewell to the track: «Formula 1» champion Jenson Button will retire from racing after the 2025 season

«Formula 1» — is not only about cars, technology, speed and victories. It is also about the stories of people who have shaped the face of motorsport for decades. One of them was Jenson Button — 2009 Formula 1 «» champion, a real fighter who went from an outsider to a top star. At the end of 2025, he will say goodbye to professional motorsport as a full-time pilot.

In 2025, Jenson Button turned 45. He is currently competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) as part of the Hertz Jota Cadillac team. In addition, Button works as an expert on Sky Sports F1 when his participation in the race does not coincide with the broadcasts and is an ambassador for Williams Racing.

Recently, Button, along with his teammates Earl Bamber and Sebastian Bourdais, finished second in the «6 Hours of São Paulo» stage at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil. The victory went to another team car, piloted by Alex Lynn, Norman Natto and Will Stevens. But the 2025 season will be Button’s last as a full-time racer. He plans to reduce his racing activity to spend more time with his family.

The first years in «Formula 1»

The son of the famous rally driver John Button, Jenson made his «Formula 1» debut in 2000 at the wheel of a Williams with only two years of racing under his belt. Despite doubts about his experience, Button immediately established himself as a promising driver, finishing in the points five times, with his best result in his debut year being 4th place at the German Grand Prix.

However, after the 2000 season, he lost his place at Williams, losing to the newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya. Button moved to Benetton, where the 2001 season was one of the worst of his career — he scored only 2 points.

After being forced to leave Renault at the end of 2002, he joined BAR in 2003, where he gradually rebuilt his reputation. In 2004, after Jacques Villeneuve’s departure, Button became the team leader and had a breakthrough season: 10 podiums and third place in the overall standings behind the legendary Michael Schumacher.

In 2006, Jenson scored his first victory in «Formula 1» — on a rainy round in Hungary, starting 14th. It was also the first win for Honda as a manufacturer since 1967.

However, in 2007-2008, Honda lost its competitiveness, and Button’s career was once again in jeopardy. In December 2008, the company announced its withdrawal from «Formula 1», leaving Button without a team. The situation was saved by Ross Brawn, who bought the team for a symbolic £1 and created Brawn GP.

A championship year

Despite limited funding, Brawn’s BGP001 car became the best in early 2009 thanks to an innovative diffuser design. Button won the first two rounds of the season — Australia and Malaysia, and then four of the remaining seven. Victories in Monaco, Turkey and Spain gave him a solid lead in the championship.

In the second half of the season, rivals, including Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel, began to catch up. But Button maintained his lead and became the champion, finishing fifth in Brazil, one of the most emotional moments of his career.

Gradual decline

Unexpectedly for many, in 2010 he moved to McLaren, where he became a teammate of 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton. Here, Button won several more high-profile victories, including the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix in the wet, where he won the longest Grand Prix in «Formula 1» history, starting from 21st place and knocking his teammate off the track along the way. Then his car was involved in another collision. After that, Jensen was the last to enter the track and managed to make his way forward, passing many famous rivals and won the last lap.

Its last victory came in Brazil in 2012. And in 2013, McLaren lost its form, and the team could no longer compete for victories. In 2014, Button took the podium for the last time in Melbourne, after Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification.

The next two seasons were terrible: Honda’s comeback in 2015-2016 did not live up to expectations, and McLaren-Honda’s cars were slow and unreliable. In 2016, Button was replaced by the debutant Stoffel Vandoorne, but Jenson returned to the Monaco stage once again, replacing Fernando Alonso, who left for the «Indy 500». But the race ended for him with an accident on lap 57 after contact with Pascal Wehrlein. For this accident, Button was penalized 3 places on the starting grid for the next race, but he never served it.

Jenson Button’s statistics

In total, Jenson Button competed in «Formula 1» for 18 seasons — from 2000 to 2017. He took part in 306 Grand Prix during his career in the championship. He did not start 5 more times due to technical reasons or rule violations. 75 times his car did not finish.

During all 18 seasons, Jenson Button has driven «Formula 1» 16271 laps, which is 80835 km. Of these, he led 762 laps (3885 km).

Over the years, Button has started from the first position 8 times and set the fastest lap time 8 times. He has climbed to the podium 50 times and won 15 victories. He also has 1 hat-trick (won qualifying, won the race, set the fastest lap during one weekend). In total, he has earned 1235 points in all seasons.

Other series

After «Formula 1», Button participated in various championships: he won the Japanese Super GT series in 2018 and competed in the NASCAR Cup Series three times.

Now, in 2025, Jenson has decided to hang up his helmet on a nail and spend more time with his family.

Source: autoevolution, statsf1