Jenson Button: A British Driver Makes Good at Honda Formula 1 Team

Name: Jenson Button
Born: January 19, 1980 in Frome, England

Team: Honda
Height: 6'
Weight: 151 lbs.

Hobbies: Water sports, cycling, cars, music and skiing

Previous F1 Teams:

* 2000 Williams
* 2001 Benetton
* 2002 Renault
* 2003 - 2005 BAR Honda
* 2006 - 2008 Honda

Victories: 1

Background:

Jenson started go-karting at age eight and won several British national and international championships. He moved to cars at 18 and won the British Formula Ford series and the Formula Ford Festival, in his first year. In 1999 he raced in British Formula 3 and took third place, and was the rookie of the year.

His Career Thus Far:

Jenson was such a sensation in both karts and cars, that at 20 years old he was signed up for a season at the Williams team in Formula 1, then one of the top teams in the sport. He was the youngest British driver ever to race in F1. In only his second race, he finished sixth, at the Brazilian Grand Prix, to become the youngest driver ever to score a point. He finished the season in eighth position in the drivers' series.

After a year at Williams, Jenson joined the Benetton team in 2001 and stayed there for two seasons. Unfortunately, the team was in transition after being bought out by Renault, which it would be called in 2002, and Jenson scored only two points in his first season there. He then joined BAR Honda, with Jacques Villeneuve, the former world champion, as a teammate. In 2004 Jenson finally found his stride, as did the BAR team, and he scored 11 podiums and finished third in the championship. But his first victory still eluded him.

The Williams Scandal:

During the summer of that same 2004 season Jenson stunned his BAR Honda team by announcing that he would rejoin the Williams team for the following two years. A long battle ensued with first BAR and then Jenson deciding he would not join Williams. That led to a battle between Jenson and Williams. In the end, Jenson said he would buy himself out of the contract to Williams, and he paid the team an estimated $50 million. Jenson also signed a four year deal to race for Honda at $45 million per year.

Character:

Although Jenson gives off the impression of having a cool, laid back attitude to life and racing, the incident with Williams showed not only his level of ruthlessness to achieve what he wants, but also a certain acumen. Aside from the financial return, the choice to stay at Honda paid off, after Williams went downhill and Honda improved: Jenson won his first race with the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix last season.