\n\n N\/A\n <\/td>\n | \n N\/A\n <\/td>\n | \n N\/A\n <\/td>\n | \n N\/A\n <\/td>\n | \n N\/A\n <\/td>\n | \n N\/A\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\nBefore Fame<\/h2>\nHe did not pass his first driving test on account of being too close to a parked car.<\/p>\n <\/i> Biography<\/h2>\n<\/i> Biography Timeline<\/h2>\n\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1980<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button was born on 19 January 1980 in Frome, Somerset and brought up in nearby Vobster. He is the fourth child of the half-South African Simone Lyons and former Rallycross driver John Button from London’s East End, who was well known in the United Kingdom during most of the 1970s for his so-called Colorado Beetle Volkswagen. They met in Newquay at a young age and were reunited after a musical concert at Longleat. According to John, Jenson was named after his Danish friend and rallycross opponent Erling Jensen, changing the “e” to an “o” to differentiate it from Jensen Motors, while Simone recalls that she named him Jenson after noticing a Jensen sports car and thought the change of name would be “more mannish”. After his parents divorced when he was seven, he and his three elder sisters were brought up by their mother in Frome. Button was educated at Vallis First School, Selwood Middle School and Frome Community College. His karting career limited his studying and he left school with one GCSE. Button failed his first driving test for driving between two cars on a narrow road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1987<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button enjoyed racing from an early age, racing a BMX bike with friends after school, and began watching Formula One (F1) motor racing with his father around the age of five or six. He idolised four-time world champion Alain Prost for his calm personality and intellectual approach to driving. Button’s father gave him a 50cc bike for his seventh birthday; he discarded it after half an hour because of it lacked speed, which would have required his father to remove its restrictor, and he disliked his father’s idea of progressing to the 80cc category. John talked to rallycross driver and Ripspeed car accessories owner Keith Ripp at a London car show about his son; Kipp recommenced the purchase of a go-kart suited for the Cadets class for eight to twelve year-old karters for the young boy. Button received the kart as a Christmas present in 1987 and he began karting at the Clay Pigeon Raceway at the age of eight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1989<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n He was required to drive on slick tyres on a wet track because his father wanted him to learn car control on a sodden surface and taught him basic driving techniques by standing at a corner and pointing to where his son should brake. In 1989, aged nine, Button won the British Super Prix. Midway through the year, his father spoke to him about progressing to the club level since others noticed he was competitive, which Button was interested in. He won all 34 races of the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship and the title with team Wright karts. Afterwards Button told his father his objective was to compete in F1 and he was given a map to chart his progress in karting. The two agreed to give each other more autonomy and Button was mentored by mechanic Dave Spencer in moving from the Cadets to Juniors class. Spencer told him to be more aggressive and less smooth driving Junior karts because they have more power than a Cadet kart. Button was also required to manage the condition of his tyres to retain grip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1992<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Further successes followed, including three British Open Kart Championship wins. A series of sub-par performances in 1992 gave Button doubts over his ability to win races and he told his father he wanted to continue racing after dismissing the suggestion of two months away from karting. The family telephoned Spencer for advice; he and Button’s father constructed the young boy’s karts and influenced his school headteacher to change his fitness regime and had to eschew unhealthy beverages. Spencer helped him to observe and concentrate on how others drove their karts, and continued to coach Button until his youngest son Danny died in an multi-kart accident at the Hunts Kart Racing Club in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire in late 1994.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1994<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button was fourth in the 1994 RAC British Junior Championship after losing the opportunity to claim the title through a series of accidents. He joined the Birel team for that year’s Junior Intercontinental A European Championship and raced as a professional in the Junior Intercontinental A Italian Winter Championship. He was the youngest runner-up of the Formula A World Championship at age 15. Button was signed to drive Tecno-Rotax karts for Team GKS, coming fifth in the 1996 European Formula A Championship, third in the Formula A World Cup, and third in the American Championship. In 1997, he was moved to the top-level of karting Formula Super A by his team, Button won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup for finishing second in the 1997 Japanese World Cup, and became the youngest driver and first Briton to claim the European Super A Championship. He also was runner-up in the Winter Cup in preparation for the European Super A Championship, which he won.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1999<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button drove in the British Formula 3 International Series in 1999 in a slightly underpowered Renault-Dallara F399 car compared to the Mugen-Honda engine, with guidance from trainer-physiotherapist Josef Leberer. He won three times\u2014at Thruxton, Pembrey and Silverstone\u2014to finish the season as the top rookie driver, and third overall. He finished fifth and second respectively in the Marlboro Masters and Macau Grand Prix, losing out by 0.035 seconds to Darren Manning in Macau. Button was required to decide on his future post-season. He did not want another year in F3 and tested a higher-tier Formula 3000 (F3000) car, which he disliked because its sequential gearbox forced him to drive aggressively.<\/p>\n In November 1999, Button had his McLaren test prize at the Silverstone club circuit in a MP4\/13 car and impressed team owner Ron Dennis. He also tested for the Prost team at the Circuit de Catalunya after the team owner Alain Prost was impressed by Button’s ability and asked him to test. Prost offered Button a drive at his F3000 squad before becoming his F1 team’s test driver for one season to prepare for competitive driving. He did not commit because Prost had not prepared to fulfill the promise of a F1 seat. Huysman and Robertson declined Dennis’ offer for Button to join the McLaren team and a seat from Jaguar chairman Jackie Stewart.<\/p>\n A vacant race seat became available at the Williams team, following the departure of two-time CART champion Alessandro Zanardi. On 24 December 1999, team founder and principal Frank Williams telephoned Button, who first thought it a joke, and asked whether he was ready to drive in F1 to which he said no. Button’s father instructed him to tell Williams he was indeed ready. Button and Williams met at the team headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire and a ‘shoot-out’ test was arranged between Button and F3000 racer and test driver Bruno Junqueira at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, with Button securing the drive. This made him Britain’s youngest ever F1 driver. Button did not hold a FIA Super Licence and the FIA president Max Mosley required him to complete 300 km (190 mi) on two consecutive days of testing and support from 18 of the 26 members of the F1 Commission. The FIA chose to issue him with a super licence regardless. Button worked with a physiotherapist to help build his strength to drive an F1 car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2000<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n A sixth-place finish at the season’s second race in Brazil made him the youngest driver in history to score a point. In his first six races, he qualified higher than his teammate Ralf Schumacher twice, and was consistently close in pace. However, Williams had intended to use Button only until they could exercise their option to buy the highly rated Juan Pablo Montoya out of his contract at Chip Ganassi Racing. A dip in Button’s form, combined with Montoya’s victory in the 2000 Indianapolis 500, led to Montoya being announced as his replacement midway through the season. Williams chose not to sell Button’s contract, keeping the right to recall him in 2003. He went to Benetton on a two-year loan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2001<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n For 2001, Button partnered experienced driver Giancarlo Fisichella at Benetton, which had recently been purchased by Renault. His car was very uncompetitive due to a lack of power steering and horsepower to the faster teams coupled with a lack of pre-season testing and he was consistently outperformed by his teammate. He finished 17th in the Drivers’ Championship with a total of two points scored; his best result was a fifth-place finish at the German Grand Prix. His poor form led to speculation he would be replaced before the end of the year; team principal Flavio Briatore said, “Either he shows he’s super-good or he leaves the top echelon of drivers”, and reportedly offered him the chance to leave. Briatore believed Button’s inexperience showed as he struggled to help his team set up a competitive car. His lack of success combined with an extravagant lifestyle led some press publications to dub him a “playboy”.<\/p>\n Button finished second to footballer Ryan Giggs in voting for the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. He also won the BBC West Country’s Sports Personality of the Year and the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award. He won the 2000 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Newcomer Award for finishing eighth in that year’s F1 season, the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in 2001, and the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy as the most successful British or Commonwealth driver in a season five times: from 2004 to 2006, 2009 and 2011. Button was voted the Autosport Rookie of the Year in 2000, the International Racing Driver Award in 2004 and 2009, and the British Competition Driver of the Year in 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He won the BRDC Gold Star in 2004 and 2009, and was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame in 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2002<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n In 2002, Benetton was re-branded as Renault, and Jarno Trulli joined the team to partner Button. In a bid to improve his public image over the pre-season interval, Button separated from Robertson and Huysman and signed to John Byfield’s sport managerial stable. He went to a ranch in Kenya for nine days to become acquainted with his peers and do physical training to eliminate a shoulder and back problem that had hindered him in 2001. Button spent a lot of time working with his engineering team and felt there was an improved understanding between them; Button described himself as “very confident” for the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2003<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n At the season’s second race in Malaysia, he was set for his first podium before a rear suspension problem on the final lap dropped him to fourth place. Button’s performances were greatly improved from 2001 because his car had power steering and launch control; although often outqualified by Trulli, he showed the faster race pace to outscore his more experienced teammate. Despite Button’s performances, and his desire to stay with Renault, he was told by Briatore by telephone that test driver Fernando Alonso would replace him in 2003. Briatore faced criticism for his decision, but stated “time will tell if I am wrong”; he would also accuse Button of being a “lazy playboy”. In July, Button signed a two-year contract with a two-year option for British American Racing (BAR), partnering 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, after discussions with several teams fell through. An important factor in his decision was the chance to work with David Richards, the BAR team principal. He finished the season seventh with 14 points.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2004<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n The 2004 season was the first in which Button was the more experienced driver in his team. He was ambitious for the season, saying he wanted to challenge consistently for points and podium finishes. He took his first podium in the second race of the year\u2014third-place at the Malaysian Grand Prix. He followed it up two weeks later with another third-place in Bahrain. In the next race at Imola, he took his first pole position and finished second behind Michael Schumacher. He took 10 podiums in 18 races, and scored no points in three. Button came third in the Drivers’ Championship and helped BAR to take second in the Constructors’ Championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2005<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n BAR was renamed Honda prior to 2006 following a buyout by the Japanese manufacturer and Button was partnered by the experienced Rubens Barrichello. Button was granted equal status by Honda and would receive no preferential treatment alongside Barrichello. The new team performed well in testing, helped by the extra resources now available from Honda, and Button was confident in the car. He had been frustrated by not converting his increasing experience and confidence in his driving into success in 2005 and was excited about Honda’s car and engine development enabling him to challenge for race victories. Button scored points in five of the first eleven races and achieved a third-place finish at the second round, the Malaysian Grand Prix, and pole position at the following Australian Grand Prix. The first win of his career was at a rain-affected Hungarian Grand Prix from a 14th position start \u2013 the 113th Grand Prix start of his career. Button finished fourth or fifth at each of the next five races and ended the season with a podium finish at the final round in Brazil. Over the last six races of the season, he scored more points (35) than any other driver.<\/p>\n His hobbies include mountain biking, competing in triathlons and body boarding, and maintains a car collection. He was engaged to the actress and singer Louise Griffiths before ending their five-year relationship in 2005. Button was married to his long-time girlfriend and model Jessica Michibata from 2014 to 2015. He is engaged to model Brittny Ward, with whom he has a son, and lives in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2006<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n For the second year in a row, Button had contract disputes involving BAR and Williams. Button had signed a pre-contract to drive for Williams in 2006, but he now believed his prospects of achieving his maiden Grand Prix victory would be better at BAR, and that his Williams contract was not binding. Frank Williams insisted the contract was fully binding, and that there would be “absolutely no turning back”; his team required Button to fulfill some contractual obligations with sponsors. After several weeks of talks, Williams agreed to release Button in exchange for an estimated \u00a318 million in compensation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2007<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n In 2007, Button again drove with Honda alongside Barrichello. He was unable to take part in pre-season testing because of two hairline fractures to his ribs, sustained in a karting incident in late 2006. His Honda RA107 car proved to be aerodynamically poor from lacking grip after Shuhei Nakamoto was appointed Senior Technical Director following the departure of Geoff Willis. His year was worse than in 2006, driving within the middle of the field and usually qualifying outside of the top ten. He scored six points over the course of the season to place 15th in the Drivers’ Championship with a best finish of fifth at the rain-affected Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Button was invited to the Race of Champions six times: in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017, reaching the semi-finals of the Nations Cup with Andy Priaulx for Team Autosport in 2007 and 2008 and finishing second in 2009. His best performances in the Race of Champions were the semi-finals in 2009 and the quarter-finals in 2017. In 2019, Button drove off-road races in a Rocket Motorsports-entered Brenthel Industries Spec 6100 TT class truck with Buncombe and managing director Mazen Fawaz his co-drivers. This came about when Button told Buncombe they would race the Baja 1000 as Buncombe’s 40th birthday present and sought vehicle components. Navigated by Terry Madden, he finished no higher than the top 20 in the Mint 400 with retirements in the Vegas to Reno and the Baja 1000. In 2020, while motor racing was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Button participated in eSports races.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2008<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n On 4 December 2008, the global economic crisis caused Honda to withdraw from F1, leaving Button’s chances of a drive in 2009 dependent on the team finding a buyer. He was informed of the news by his manager Richard Goodard the day before and he changed his plans to talk about the withdrawal with colleagues and not the performance of his 2009 car. Red Bull Racing’s junior team Toro Rosso offered him a seat, which he turned down because they would not provide him with a podium-winning car and they wanted sponsorship funding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2009<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Brawn purchased the Honda team for a nominal fee and renamed it as Brawn GP in early March 2009. Button signed a contract to drive for the team in 2009, and took a pay cut as part of the agreement. Although he was installed by bookmakers as a 100\u20131 outsider for the championship, Button’s Brawn BGP 001 car was quick and reliable in pre-season testing in Europe due to an efficient aerodynamic package, a powerful Mercedes-Benz V8 engine and grippy slick tyres. The car’s seat was lowered to make him comfortable. Button won six of the first seven races with four pole positions, having benefited from a double diffuser design making him and the Toyota and Williams teams faster than others. He matched the achievement set by former world champions Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Schumacher. Once the major teams had introduced their own reconfigured diffusers Button’s dominance ended, averaging sixth position in the following ten races and scoring 35 points after accumulating 61 in the first seven. This was due to the team spending 10 per cent of its allocated \u00a37 million budget on developing the car and Button’s smooth driving style preventing him from generating heat into its tyres in cold weather.<\/p>\n Button has a smooth driving style; journalist Mark Hughes wrote in 2009, “Button has a fantastic feel for how much momentum can be taken into a corner and this allows him to be minimal in his inputs\u2014his steering and throttle movements in particular tend to be graceful and beautifully co-ordinated.” This allows him to perform well in wet-weather where the front of the car tends to slide more than the rear, and many believe his smooth style better preserves the tyres during a race. He adapted his style in go-karts and transferred it to more powerful machinery. Since 2000, Button has braked with his left foot, by dragging the brake pedal and stopping the car in less time to control and modulate power. He likes to turn into a corner early under braking and balance the car on pedal application and steering. This creates more strain in the tyre loads for a longer physical lap but allows for a higher minimum speed entering a corner and allowing Button to adapt to a changeable or slippery track.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2010<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button’s MP4-26 car for 2011 was built around his taller frame from intra-team input in late 2010. He believed the introduction of Pirelli tyres that season would suit his smooth driving style and said a world championship victory would make it difficult for him to retire from F1. Button began the season by finishing no lower than sixth in the first six races with three podium results. He won the rain-affected Canadian Grand Prix after two collisions dropped him to the back of the field and overtaking Vettel when the latter ran wide on the slippery track on the final lap. Button then won the Hungarian Grand Prix, which was held in similar weather, and the Japanese Grand Prix, but his results over the course of the season mathematically eliminated him from championship contention when Vettel took the title in Japan. Button took 3 victories and 12 podium finishes for second in the Drivers’ Championship with 270 points. He qualified better than his teammate Hamilton six times during the season and occasionally compromised his starting position to improve his chances for a race.<\/p>\n Button is also involved in charitable work through the creation of The Jenson Button Trust. Established in March 2010, the Trust provides donations to a number of charitable causes. Each year the Trust will select and nominate charitable beneficiaries to which the funds will be distributed. He is a patron of Make-A-Wish Foundation UK granting the wishes of terminally ill children and young persons, a sport ambassador for both The Prince’s Trust and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, and supports the Sean Edwards Foundation. Button is part of Johnnie Walker’s Join The Pact initiative to promote responsible drinking, and began the Pink for Papa campaign in 2014 following the death of his father to raise funding for the Henry Surtees Foundation.<\/p>\n He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to motorsport. Button’s home town, Frome, has named a street and a footbridge carrying the River Frome after him, and has awarded him the freedom of the town. Button received an honorary doctorate in engineering from the University of Bath in December 2016. He has authored five books about his life and career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2011<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n Button became interested in Super GT in about 2011, and discussions with Honda led to his series debut at the 2017 Suzuka 1000km in a NSX-GT for Team Mugen with teammates Hideki Mutoh and Daisuke Nakajima. The trio finished 12th following two penalties and two tyre punctures. He also considered racing as a third driver for Acura Team Penske’s IMSA SportsCar Championship team, but was rejected. Button drove the full 2018 Super GT Series for Team Kunimitsu in the No. 100 GT500-class Honda NSX-GT alongside Naoki Yamamoto; Button wanted to drive a Bridgestone-shod car and drivers recommended Yamamoto because he speaks English. Button’s team helped him to communicate better, adapt to the series and its culture. He and Yamamoto won at Sportsland Sugo and took two second-place finishes to enter the season-ending race at Twin Ring Motegi equal on points with the TOM’S duo of Ry\u014d Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy. He held off Hirakawa to win the GT500 title by three points and was the first rookie champion since Toranosuke Takagi in 2005.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n |