Jenson Button

Jenson Button is one of the most experienced English drivers racing in Formula One. Button is the son of successful Rally-Cross driver John Button who made a name for himself as a racing driver in the 1970s. After years spent underachieving in Formula One racing, Button made his F1 breakthrough in 2009, winning the Drivers Championship after winning several early season races with Brawn GP.

Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 19/01/1980
Team: McLaren
World Championship Titles: 1
First Race: 2000 Australian Grand Prix
First Win: 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
Car Number: 1
2009 Championship Position: 1st

During his first year in Kart racing Jenson Button proved to be a precocious talent, winning every race in the 1991 Kadet Car Championship. By the age of 18 Button had progressed to Formula Ford, where he won the series’ Rookie of the Year award.

After a second year in open wheel racing Button was offered the opportunity to join the Williams team. Following a promising start to his Formula One career in his debut year, Button transferred to Renault for the 2001 season. Button’s first year with Renault was a disaster as he managed to secure only 2 championship points.

Button changed teams again in 2003, joining BAR Honda. After a quiet first season with the team, Button impressed in the 2004 Formula One season by finishing 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship and achieving seven podium finishes.

From there on Button’s fortune became inextricably intertwined with those of his team. The team went into decline once BAR pulled out of the team partnership, and other than achieving a first Grand Prix win in 2006, Button’s results suffered. By the conclusion of the 2007 Formula One season, Button had dropped to 15th position in the Drivers’ Championship.

In early 2009 Honda announced that it would be withdrawing from Formula One racing after several unsuccessful seasons in the sport. Button was in limbo over his future for weeks before a management takeover of the Honda team saw him contracted as a driver for the new Brawn F1 team.

The withdrawal of Honda proved to be a blessing for Button. Under team principal, Ross Brawn, Button blossomed in a competitive car. The Briton won 6 of the first 7 races of the 2009 season, and despite failing to win another race in 2009 managed to claim the Drivers Championship.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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