Jenson Button Biography
It was with the victory in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix that Jenson Button finally made his mark in the Formula One world. Crucially, the win served a dual purpose for Button; a fitting riposte for skeptics who had questioned the Englishman’s problematic abandonment of a deal with Williams- the side that had spring-boarded him into the competition in 2000, and a reason for Button’s dedicated fans to celebrate their hero’s first significant victory.
Success had come naturally to Button prior to the drought of trophies that had plagued his Formula One years before the 2006 win in Hungary. The Englishman won his first kart race at the age of eight despite having started the race at a disadvantage. He would go on clinch the British Cadet kart championship at the age of ten, defending his title at the next year’s competition at comfort with an astonishing 34 victories.
The young racer hastily established himself as a potent local talent prior to his ascension onto the international stage where he went on to distinguish himself as the least-aged victor of the European Super A championship as well as becoming the youngest second-place holder at the Formula A world series. Button concluded his thriving kart-race career after booking a win at the 1997 Ayrton Senna memorial cup at Suzuka prior to his unsurprising switch to single-seater racing.
Having teamed up with Haywood Racing in 1998, Button’s initial stunt at the considerably-challenging British Formula Ford series saw him clinch the championship title. The Englishman’s trophy cabinet was soon thriving with accolades accumulated at the British Formula Ford Festival and the European championship; the same year, he had also won the esteemed McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award. Such triumphs swiftly propelled Button’s ascension to the British Formula Three for the 1999 season.
1999 saw Button being meritoriously crowned the “Rookie of the Year” after putting on a stunning display that saw him clinch the third position at the season’s conclusion after having secured three wins and seven podium positions. The young competitor’s conspicuous successes that season were to immediately bring him to the attention of several Formula One bosses including McLaren, Prost and Williams who demonstrated an interest in signing him. Button finally booked a place with the Williams squad for the 2000 competition after impressing Frank Williams with a dazzling test run display.
Button’s highly publicized move to William’s made him Britain’s youngest ever Grand Prix driver at the age of just 20. It was a deal that unsurprisingly generated an unprecedented amount of anticipation, yet the off-track drama did nothing to distract the Englishman’s tenaciously focused performances on the grid that ultimately helped him finish eighth in the championship after several solid performances. Yet, heedless of Button’s meaningful contribution over the year 2000, William’s saw it fit to see the driver off over to Benetton for the coming two seasons where ill-fortune and technical complications conspired to deny the Englishman any significant success. In 2003, Button’s substitution by Fernando Alonso carved out his exit for BAR, a move that was to subsequently help him salvage his waning reputation.
The Englishman’s confident on-track demeanor that season helped steer the Honda squad-in-waiting through a challenging championship struggle even though Button saw himself out-performed by teammate Jacques Villeneuve on most occasions. However, Villeneuve’s exit from the team the following year left the coast clear for Button to prove his mettle after being teamed with Takuma Sato, and the Englishman made his mark by securing ten podium standings and clinching the third position in the overall driver’s championship with the Honda/BAR joint venture. At the end of 2003, Button decided to resettle his deal with Williams, deciding to snub his mentors for a prolonged stay at BAR/Honda.
It was a controversial move by Button, and over the following years many were left debating the Englishman’s judgment. After finishing second in 2004, BAR descended to the six position in 2005, and although the team’s acquisition by Honda in 2006 facilitated Button’s well-earned win at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the team’s declining fortune’s ultimately forced their exit from the sport at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
The Englishman’s career hung in the balance before the Honda team was finally able to sort its deeply troubled affairs following a management buyout. Button’s decision to pledge his future to McLaren for the 2010 drive alongside compatriot Lewis Hamilton came following his resurgent performances in a successful with the Brawn GP in 2009.
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