Exclusive: Jenson Button 'Life really started at 40'

Jenson is ready to race at Le Mans 2023 - Image supplied/Readly

Jenson Button became a household name at the tender age of 20 after he jumped into a Williams F1 car in 2000. He made history by becoming the youngest British driver ever to start an F1 race, and Buttonmania began.

It was the dream for the young lad from Frome, Somerset, who began his Karting career at just eight years old. And, what a career it has been. He went on to become the Formula 1 World Champion in 2009 with Brawn GP.

He's picked up a string of accolades along the way, including the BBC Sports Personality, Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year, the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy as the most successful British or Commonwealth driver in a season five times, plus many more. He was also awarded an MBE in 2010 for his services to motorsport.

And, despite retiring from the sport in 2016, there is no stopping Jenson. He plans to take on the Le Mans endurance race in 2023, he's launched his own Extreme E racing team, and he is working with coach-builder Radford to launch a luxury vintage car codenamed Project 62.

He's also recently launched a new collaboration with Readly, the magazine subscription app, and Motor Sport magazine, where he has curated Motor Sport magazine content that documents personal highlights from both his career and from motorsport as a whole.

Here all-round nice guy Jenson chats to us about his illustrious F1 career, family life in LA and gives us his predictions for the upcoming British Grand Prix.

Touching on your Readly and Motor Sport collaboration, what is your top iconic moment in F1 and what is the iconic moment of your career?

For me, it's those races in the 80s with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost both racing in McLaren and fighting for the championships. They have seven World Championships between them. That, for me, was the epitome of F1 and competition. Ayrton was the best driver of his time; his pace was insane, and to get one over on Alan Prost, that's unreal. I have a lot of respect for Alan Prost, how he raced, his skill level and his engineering knowledge. It was a great time in the sport.

I do find it very difficult to compare Ayrton to the likes of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. They all achieved a lot because of their skill and found themselves in good cars.

Many other good drivers haven't shown their true talent because they have not been in the quickest car, like Daniel Riccardo. I raced in Formula 1 for 17 years, and my teammate never won the world championship over me. So I think in F1 if you want to be regarded as a good driver, your teammate can never have won the world championship over you.

If people think of my career, they think of the Canadian Grand Prix in 2011; it was the longest race in history. I crashed with my teammate Lewis Hamilton, I had six pit stops and a drive-through penalty, a puncture and a broken front wing, and I won on the last lap race. But is it my best race? No. The best races are the ones you're quickest in practice, quickest in qualifying and win the race in the fastest lap. Of course, those races mean the most to the driver, but in terms of excitement and iconic racing, it has to be the Canadian Grand Prix 2011.

How is your role as Senior Advisor at Williams going? And what do you think about the Dorilton Capital take over?

It was such a family run business, and I had so much respect for Frank and Claire for staying in the sport as long as they could and doing as good a job as they could. It was time for them to let it go. In F1, you need the funding and new ideas, and Williams has that now with the new leadership. I think it was the right option. They gave me my first opportunity in 2000; racing under Frank and Patrick Head was a dream come true. Because when I watched racing in the 80s, it was Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, and I have so much love for the team. The new owners are still keeping the brand's heritage alive, which is essential, but they are going in a new direction with new funding.

I enjoy my role as a senior advisor; I've got a lot of information to give, working with the drivers, the engineers and Jost, the new boss. I like making sure everyone feels part of the team. It's all moving along nicely, but it's all going to take a bit of time. It's not an overnight change. The team has been slowly deteriorating year on year, so it's going to be a few years.

I want to be more involved. But, with the pandemic, it has been tricky. On a race weekend, I'm not allowed to be in their bubble; I can't go in the garage and speak to the mechanics. So even though we are still working together in the same paddock and we test every three days, I still can't go in. So it's the small things for me like spending time with the mechanics, saying hi to the guys and keeping their spirits up. It's those little things that make a big difference.

Do the Williams drivers Nicholas Latifi and George Russell come to you for advice?

I speak to George more just because I know him more. He is an immense talent; he's not just quick; he's intelligent and willing to learn. He spends a lot of time with the engineers learning about the car. The most important thing I say to him is, 'George, if there is anything you need a change in the team that you feel you need to speak to me about, tell me as maybe it would sound better coming from me. So, for example, if they should direct funds to a particular area or any other issues, just let me know, and he's spoken to me, and the team has listened to me because of my experience in the sport. I have worked with so many different teams and engineers, so there is a good relationship there.

It's an exciting time for F1 with many young drivers breaking through the ranks; who do you think will become a future World Champion?

I think the young drivers like Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Max Verstappen are all great talents, and we'll have to see how they improve over the years. But Max is just incredibly talented. I like his attitude to be fair. He hasn't changed since he stepped in an F1 car to now; he hasn't changed one bit. He's been the same person since he began.

Lando Norris has blown my mind this year. He's been a super talent this year and made moves an experienced driver would make. He made one on Charles Leclerc at the Imola restart, and it was awesome. He is thinking on his feet all the time, and he's impressed me. George has too. All the British drivers in F1 this season are mega and will achieve a lot in the future. Whether they win the world championship or not is something different, but they'll be winning races.

Max is currently leading the F1 Driver's Championship. So does he need to try and curb his fiery temper?

Lewis also had a temper back in the day. When he and Max are both in the car, and the adrenaline is pumping, they are very similar. Lewis is like, 'why did you put me on this strategy' and Max will get angry about something, and that is part of the game because there is so much adrenaline and excitement - these are two drivers at the top of their game fighting against each other. There is a lot of pressure on them both. Lewis is more experienced, and when he gets out of the car, he can control it more. Whereas Max says it is as it is. But luckily, he's with a team who let him vent and show his anger, and it works. It's Red Bull, and it's exciting. For example, if he were in a Mercedes, it would be a little bit of a different story, and they might be having a word with him.

Lewis (Hamilton) is coming under increasing pressure from Max this season. How do you think he is coping? And, will he be thinking about retiring?

It's interesting this year because Lewis is massively under pressure from Max. But Lewis has impressed me more than any other year because of the pressure; he deserves a lot of credit for how he handled it, and to be fair, he's had a couple of bad races. I thought Max would be the one we are all talking about. It's great to see the two super talents of Max and Lewis up against each other – it's what the sport needs coming out of a pandemic. We crave this! It's great having two teammates fight for a championship, but that hasn't been the case at Mercedes for a couple of years. But, to have two different teams, two different drivers, it's fantastic. The cars are different and work better on different circuits, so it makes it exciting.

In terms of Lewis retiring, for every driver, it depends on the car you're in, and if you're winning, it doesn't matter what age you are because if you're happy, you want to keep racing. F1 is one life and, after F1, one is another life.

F1 consumes you, and there is no room for anything else. And, if Lewis wants to live somewhere like in America, he might have a future career in something else, or if he wants to start a family or even a relationship, you can't really do it in F1. You need to move away from the sport. So if his car's not quick and he's midfield, he'll retire because there is no interest in them.

There has been a lot of talk about Valtteri Bottas leaving Mercedes for Williams and George Russell leaving Williams for Mercedes. Is this likely to happen?

I think they'll be some drivers leaving their teams at the end of the season. But, at this point in the season, many top teams have their drivers in place for next season and are pretty happy with them. There are quite a few contracts up at the end of the season, I think, but I don't there'll be any significant changes. It could be a complete swap around with Williams and Mercedes, I guess with George going to Mercedes and Valtteri coming to Williams. He's been at Williams before, and I am sure it hurts to go to a team that isn't fighting in front. But he would be great for Williams.

He comes with a lot of experience, and maybe he'll find his feet again and mentally, he'll be in a better place. He'll also be at a team that doesn't have Lewis Hamilton in it. I think Mercedes have been happy with Valtteri not being on pace the last few seasons. But he's always come away with good points in 2nd or 3rd in the races, so Mercedes has always won the constructors championships.

But this year, he hasn't been performing as well and has been out of the points, and they are not getting the points they are used to, so that's why they are probably looking elsewhere to get another driver for 2022.

With my Williams hat on, it would be sad to lose George, but the team completely understands that if he gets an opportunity to race in a car like Mercedes – they have to let him go.

You retired from F1 in 2016. Was that the right time to leave, and do you have any regrets?

When I retired, I was the same age as Alonso when he retired the first time around. It's because we're not winning. We're in a car that isn't good enough, and there is no real future for us to win, so you leave. If I were winning and in a car that was good enough, I wouldn't have retired. I would have carried on for a couple more years. But you can definitely carry on into your forties.

As long as there is love and the want for the sport, fitness isn't an issue. It's the brain; it's if you want to be involved in a sport that just consumes you for the whole season from January until December; you live F1, and you need to still be in that mindset. I left F1 at the right time; I tried to retire in 2014, and my close friends who were racing drivers said, don't leave; you'll miss it, so I stayed on for 2015, and I was burnt out. And, they said JB just stay one more year. But, halfway through 2016, I was done! Maybe I should have left the sport for a couple of years and come back, who knows. But, I retired at the right time in my life.

Taking time out from racing - Image supplied/Readly

Do you miss driving F1 cars, and do you have any other racing plans?

I miss driving the cars. They're pretty awesome. But, it's 22/23 races a year, and I'd met a fantastic woman, and I wanted to start a family and have a base. I live in a house now, I lived in an apartment for so many years of my life in Monaco, and I wanted to live in America. I did carry on GT racing in Japan for a couple of years.

Now I want to race in something else. Le Mans 24 is on the cards for 2023. I love the atmosphere and camaraderie of racing and working with other drivers to fix the car. And, in endurance racing, it's better to be older, and in your 40s, you take less of the stupid risks that younger kids make. So the plan is to drive in endurance series in the US and Le Mans.

We've got the British Grand Prix coming up at the weekend. Does it hurt that you never placed there?

I loved competing in this race, and I always had the pace there, but it just never happened for me. I was in second place once and had a tyre fall off coming out the pits, and then in 2014, I finished an inch behind Daniel Riccardo, who finished on the podium. There were a few times I should have been on the podium, but I never had the opportunity to win. I was never in a car quick enough. I should have been on the podium, and that hurts because being in front of a home crowd is extra special.

The first time I got to go on the podium at the British Grand Prix was to interview Lewis when he won in 2017, so that was quite weird. Just experiencing being on the podium in front of British people was great. So yes, that was a tough one for me. But I won the World Championship and the Monaco Grand Prix. It is what it is; you take it when you can. Monaco is excellent; it's the atmosphere, it's like a festival.

What are your driver predictions for this year's British Grand Prix? Can Lewis win?

I think Silverstone is a circuit that suits Lewis' car more than the last two races. The car likes more open tracks and high-speed corners, which used to be the strength of Red Bulls previously. We really don't know, though; the cars could have had updates. But, you just never know with the UK in July, it's summer, but it might rain, we don't know who will win this year. Usually, you say, 'it's going to be Lewis, he is going to beat Valtteri, but now he has competition from Max.

It's a tough one. I think it will be a fight between Lewis and Max and then a third place for the Red Bull of Checo Perez, he won the last race, and he's always gone well-round Silverstone races. I think perhaps Red Bull could win the constructors championships this year.

It's good to see Red Bull challenging for constructors and drivers championships because usually, for them, it's their second driver who isn't scoring points, but Checo is doing really well. I love seeing that.

Tell us about JBXE, the Extreme E Team. You said racing in it was harder than F1....

The Extreme E races are very different to drive in, and it's not what I am experienced in. It's a racing category with so many talented drivers. It also has diversity because there is a male and female driving in each team. Our female driver Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky is doing really well; she's a circuit racer and has gained so much experience driving in Extreme E.

They finished third in the last race in Senegal and were leading at one point in the race but had a suspension failure. We're also third in the constructor's championship, which I'm pleased about. We're heading to Greenland for the third round, and I'm in a bit of a dilemma because they did so well without me driving. I am thinking,'do I keep Kevin in the car, or do I drive?' It's supposed to be me back driving, but we'll see.

The team have gained so much experience because they're mainly all from circuit racing; we also have the help of Lotus, who have partnered with us to work on the electric power unit of the car. It's going to be more gravelly in Greenland, so very different racing. I am really proud of JBXE racing, and partnering with Lotus has really helped.

Jenson's launched his own Extreme E team - Jenson Button/Instagram

You're a champion of female racing drivers. Will we see Women in F1 soon?

There is no reason why there are no Women in F1; it is physically possible. I can't run the 100m as fast as an average female sprinter; women can train to be strong enough to race in F1. The issue is in grassroots racing; there aren't as many females racing at a young age. It's a percentage game, and that is why there are only men in F1. I think the Extreme E race series has highlighted the talented women in motor racing.

There is probably more in off-roading than there is in circuit racing. Jamie Chadwich in Extreme E is doing well in track racing, and Mikaela has just had a 2 & 3 place finish in Swedish tourist cars, which is competitive. It just proves there is female talent out there, and to be honest, I didn't know there were so many talented female drivers out there. Hopefully, teams are seeing that now, and we really need to help females in the young ranks of the sport, so they get the skills to be good enough to fight for a seat in F1, and that is what we are hoping, but it's going to take a few years for that to happen. We hope to have women in F1.

You're a big lover of vintage cars and you're launching the first road car with Radford codenamed "Project 62. How did that come about? And, will you be buying one?

I love a pure machinal engine with no electronics. In the old days, when you bought a new luxury car like a Rolls Royce, you'd buy a chassis and the engine, and you send it away to a coach-builder like Radford to build the body. So that is what we are doing with Project 62. We have the base, which is the chassis from Lotus, which we developed with them, then Radford builds the body on top, and then I do all the testing to make sure it's a fun car to drive.

It's going well, and there'll be 62 of them, and it is reimagining the type 62 Lotus that they raced back in the sixties. It's busy, and the time schedule is tough to get the cars ready for our launch, which is too soon; the car is just stunning – I have one ordered for myself. For every car we make, Radford keeps the first one. I will be buying one of each car we make. I think everyone involved wants to buy one, so it's limiting the numbers for sale [laughs] And the second car we are producing with another manufacturer.

You live in LA now with your fiancé Brittny [Ward] and two children Hendrix and Lenny; how is life treating you with a new baby?

We have Hendrix, whose birthday is later this month, he'll be two. He's hilarious and a giant, he's massive, as big as a three or four year old, he's fantastic, and he's been through a lot already. His hip is (He underwent surgery for hip dysplasia) all sorted now, and he's running around – it wasn't cute though when we had to change his nappy while he was wearing the cast.. He also suffered a seizure after a vaccination, so you can probably understand where we stand on that now, it's been tough, but he's good now.

Our daughter is six months, and she is just amazing. Hendrix came out and looked like a wrinkly old man, and Lenny came out looking like a doll – just beautiful from the word go. She is just a smiler. Hendrix is now finally getting on with her. He was very jealous, to begin with, but now he is kissing her every five minutes. So it's nice to see them getting along.

We took them to Palm Springs for the weekend, and we threw Hendrix in the pool for the first time with his water wings on. He loves the hot tub, but we were worried he wouldn't like the pool, but he loved it, and he was doing lengths, and it was great to see him learning new things. Everyone goes through it with kids; we're not special in that regard, but it's lovely having children and have really started for me at 39, 40, and it's what life should be now with these little dudes.

Enjoying family life in LA - Jenson Button/Instagram

How do you manage the travelling for work and fatherhood? And does the LA life suit you?

It's tough being away from them for work, but we're lucky these days having FaceTime, So I get to see them. I can't imagine having kids twenty years ago and travelling. It's tricky, but I need work in my life, I need a job and an outlet, and I need to be racing. So I'll have that over the coming months and next year. It's what I do – I am a racing driver. I need that buzz and that adrenaline rush, and I'm a better dad with my kids if I have that. I couldn't be a stay at home dad.

You sadly lost your dad; who was your biggest supporter in your career; how did you come to terms with that?

My dad was my biggest supporter and always championed me. That's another reason why my last couple of years in F1 were tough. He passed away at the start of 2014, and the next few years were just weird not having him there to talk to about my racing. They were tough years anyway, as the team wasn't performing that well.

He was always there to listen. He would never comment on my racing or give me his opinion unless I asked for it. So that was another reason for retiring. I can go away and race in something else, and it hurts him not being there, but F1 did hurt because he was there from the word go through the highs and the lows of my career. I see the number 22 everywhere at the moment, and it's weird. I think it's him, and I think he is watching over me. Whether it is or whether it's silly, I don't care. It makes me happy and think of him, and that's the important thing.

Do you get back home to Frome much, and do your family visit you often in LA?

My mum hasn't been over since before the Covid pandemic; it's been terrible for her. We can't travel with the kids as it isn't the best thing right now, and we'd have to quarantine with them. She hasn't seen Hendrix in a year and a half and has never met Lenny. I feel for her and grandparents more than anyone right now. She had booked flights to come here on the 19th July, but she's had to change them because of the regulations on travel.

Hopefully, it will happen soon; she's 74 and wants to come and see the kids, so we hope it passes soon. Everything is open in the US, and we don't have to wear masks anymore. 75% of the population have been vaccinated, and we're moving forward, so hopefully, the UK will follow suit shortly.

Jenson Button is fronting Readly’s ‘Step back in time’ retro campaign. Readly is offering free unlimited reading to over 5000 magazines and republished retro issues from 22nd June until 30th of September 2021, then £7.99 a month thereafter. Visit www.readly.com/motorsport21 for more information.