Team: McLaren

Fresh from starring in Formula 1’s greatest zero-to-hero fairytale, Button will defend his title as part of an all-British, all-world champion pairing with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

He says his team switch is motivated by a desire for a new challenge after finally winning the crown – and going up against Hamilton in a squad where Lewis has literally grown up and is revered by the entire crew is certainly going to be tough.

But Button is better prepared than ever for such a test, as he starts 2010 with the #1 on his car and having proved he can win from the front as well as thrive in adversity.

His championship victory was a popular one, for while Button has enjoyed the financial and lifestyle perks that come with an F1 career, he is also an easy-going and well-rounded character.

His now infamously bad chorus of We are the Champions as he clinched the title, and his willingness to take a pay cut and cover his entourage’s expenses to keep Brawn GP alive, underlined the human qualities that make Button stand out in a sometimes soulless paddock.

Now he must disprove the widely held perception that he is merely a ‘very good’ F1 driver compared to the ‘truly great’ Hamilton.


F1 career log

Button was immediately tipped for greatness when he burst onto the Formula 1 scene with Williams in 2000.

Aged only 20, and with just two seasons of car racing under his belt, the young Brit would have scored a point on his debut had his engine not failed.

He continued to impress all season, but Williams was already committed to Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya for 2001, so Button had to move to Benetton.

He couldn’t match team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella in a difficult car, and the critics pounced – accusing Button of being an over-hyped playboy.

Although he reasserted himself with a series of points finishes in 2002, he was dropped in favour of Fernando Alonso at the end of the season.

BAR boss David Richards threw Button a lifeline, to the chagrin of incumbent number one Jacques Villeneuve.

Jenson won the intra-team battle, and the dumped Villeneuve could only watch from the sidelines as BAR took a big leap forward in 2004.

It was a breakthrough season for Button, who single-handedly kept the dominant Ferrari in sight for much of the year, even though victory remained elusive.

He was therefore devastated when the team’s 2005 car proved both less competitive and significantly more unreliable.

Button also became embroiled in a prolonged contractual wrangle between Williams and BAR, before committing to the latter just as it became a fully-fledged Honda factory team.

It was a good choice - he flew in winter testing and started 2006 as a dark horse for the title.

Honda’s early-summer slump crushed that dream, but he did at least end the season as an F1 winner after taking an unforgettable triumph in changeable weather at the Hungaroring.

Button hoped to build on that form in 2007, only for Honda to deliver a disastrously uncompetitive car.

Bar a few characteristically strong wet-weather showings, Button spent both 2007 and 2008 mired at the back of the pack – and was then left fearing for his F1 future after Honda’s exit bombshell.

But Jenson’s lowest ebb preceded his finest hour: for the recently-installed Ross Brawn had already put everything in place for Honda to surge to the front in 2009, and when the team was reborn under the Brawn GP title, that’s exactly what it did.

Six wins from the first seven races gave Button enough of a cushion to hang on through the mid-season stutters and take a world championship no one would have expected eight months earlier.


Formative years

Button had a meteoric rise to F1, with his exceptional karting record meaning he was already a hot property before he even sat in a car.

He captured the British Formula Ford title and the prestigious FFord Festival in his debut season in 1998, then went on to finish third in the domestic Formula 3 series before being given his first F1 test with Prost in late 1999.

His form caught the eye of Frank Williams, who gave Button the chance to successfully audition for a 2000 race seat.


Strengths: Silky-smooth style makes him great in the wet and adept at reeling off super-consistent race laps even on heavy fuel and worn tyres. An incisive overtaker and full of confidence after ’09.

Weaknesses: Form can nosedive if the car slips off the pace, and there were questions about his mental fortitude as his points lead dripped away last summer. Coming into McLaren as an outsider alongside a driver the team has nurtured since his teens.

Goals for 2010: Defend his world championship, and establish himself as a match for Hamilton.